UAE’s Masdar-led consortium secures land for $10bn wind project in Egypt
Egypt’s annual carbon emissions could be slashed by 9 percent thanks to a new wind project worth $10 million being developed in the North African country. A consortium led by the UAE government-owned renewable energy company, Masdar, signed an agreement with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority to secure land to build the onshore wind farm, according to a statement.
The consortium comprises Masdar, Infinity Power, which is Africa’s largest renewable energy developer, and Egypt’s Hassan Allam Utilities, an investment platform for power, renewables and water-related opportunities. The 10-gigawatt wind farm will bring Egypt one step closer to its strategic objective of sourcing 42 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030.
Once completed, the project is anticipated to produce up to 47,790 GW hours of clean energy per year and reduce around 9 percent of Egypt’s annual carbon emissions by displacing 23.8 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
The new plant is estimated to save the North African nation an estimated $5 billion in natural gas costs on a yearly basis.
Masdar’s role cements its commitment toward supporting African nations such as Egypt to meet their ambitious renewable energy objectives.
“This 10 GW onshore wind project is set to be one of the largest wind farms in the world, and largest on the African continent,” said Sultan Al-Jaber, UAE minister of industry and advanced technology, chairman of Masdar and COP28 president-designate. He added: “It is a sign of the strong partnership between the UAE and Egypt, with great potential to create jobs, cut emissions and power homes with clean electricity at competitive economical costs.” Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker Al-Markabi stressed that renewable energy in the country has the potential to attract direct foreign investments. “Egyptian entities play a vital role in creating an environment that is supportive of investment with low risks, and high interaction with the financing institutions and development partners,” he explained. During COP27 last year, Masdar, Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities also signed agreements with several Egyptian state-backed organizations in order to develop green hydrogen and derivatives’ production facilities.