EGYPT – Emirati investment company, Al Nowais and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) have revealed that they will sign an agreement to build US$750m renewable energy plants in Egypt.
According to Daily News Egypt, the plants will have a total capacity of 700MW and will contribute towards enabling the government to achieve its goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in the country.
Egypt intends to increase the supply of electricity generated from renewable sources to 20% by 2022 and 42% by 2035, with wind providing 14 percent, hydro power 2 percent, and solar 25 percent by 2035. The private sector is expected to deliver most of this capacity.
The Emirati company plans to build a 200MW solar plant in Kom Ombo region of Aswan with $200m investments, and the EETC would buy the plant’s production at about 2.48 piasters per kWh.
Al Nowais would also establish a 500MW wind farm in the Jabal Al-Zayt area with US$550 million investments, and the EETC would purchase the electricity produced from the project at about 3.1 piasters per kWh.
Earlier in October, the Electricity Ministry cancelled Al Nowais’ coal-fired power station project in Oyoun Mousa, however, the Emirati company notified the government of its desire to rather implement renewable energy projects.
The main consumer of electricity in Egypt is the residential sector which accounts for 42% of the total consumption, followed by the industrial sector (28%).
The consumption of the residential sector has been steadily increasing in the recent years.
According to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, this is due to two factors: the expansion of residential compounds and new communities as well as the use of domestic appliances, particularly the air conditioners which are mostly used during hot weather.
The 700MW renewable energy projects would thus help in meeting this rising demand for energy in a sustainable and environment friendly way.
