Wind energy can boost renewable energy produced in Egypt to 90K MW

CAIRO – 23 March 2021: The Egyptian Atlas prepared by the New and Renewable Energy Authority indicates that desert areas extending over 7,673 kilometers are suitable for the establishment of wind farms, which can boost the amount of renewable energy produced to 90,000 megawatts, Spokesperson of Electricity Ministry Ayman Hamza highlighted Tuesday.

It is noted that in 2019 Egypt produced 6,000 megawatts of renewable energy. That was 11 percent of the country's energy mix standing at 55,000 megawatts in that year.  

Hamza pointed out that Egypt has currently raised the share of renewably energy to 20 percent of the mix, which was planned to get achieved by 2022. Now, the goal is making renewable energy compose 42 percent of the energy produced in Egypt by 2035.

In December, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development issued a report on the electricity and renewable energy sector projects, as part of the series of reports issued by the ministry on the harvest of the construction phase for the past two fiscal years (2018/19-2019/20).

HalaEl-Said, minister of planning and economic development, indicated that 416 projects have been completed in the electricity and renewable energy sector, with a total investment cost estimated at LE 95.6 billion, of which 194 are projects were launched by the end of fiscal year 2019/20 at LE 33.6 billion.

On the geographical distribution of the completed projects in the electricity and renewable energy sector during 2018/19-2019/20, El-Said pointed out that Cairo Governorate came at the top in terms of the number of projects, with about 60 projects at LE 7.5 billion, followed by Aswan Governorate with 36 projects at a cost of LE 3.7 billion, and then Assiut with 23 projects at LE 9.2 billion, and the Red Sea Governorate with 22 projects at LE 9.1 billion.

El-Said explained that Upper Egypt and the border governorates accounted for 37% of the number of completed projects in the electricity sector during the past two years, at a total investment cost estimated at LE 33.8 billion, indicating that 118 projects were implemented in Upper Egypt governorates at a cost of about LE 19 billion, in addition to implementing 35 projects in the border governorates for LE 14.8 billion.

The construction phase harvest report for the electricity and renewable energy sector projects announced by the ministry indicated that 21 projects in Alexandria Governorate were completed for LE 1.4 billion, 16 projects in Beheira for LE 3.5 billion, 13 projects in Giza for LE 8.1 billion, 13 projects in Sohagat a cost of about LE 4 billion, 10 projects in Damietta for LE 4.2 billion, and 9 projects in Beni Suef for LE 1.6 billion pounds, in addition to the completion of 34 joint projects between more than one governorate for LE 33.4 billion.

The report reviewed the projects that have been completed during the past two years, the most prominent of which include the establishment of the South Helwan steam power station with a capacity of 1,950 megawatts, the conversion of the West Damietta 2 gas-powered plant to work as a combined cycle by adding 250 megawatts, to a total capacity of 750 megawatts, the conversion of the West Assiut power plant to work as a combined cycle by adding 250 megawatts to bring the total capacity to 1,500 megawatts, as well as converting the 6th October gas-powered plant to work as a combined cycle by adding 340 megawatts.

According to the report, the projects also included the implementation of 32 photovoltaic solar power stations in Benban, Aswan, with a capacity of 1,465 megawatts, which came in cooperation with the private sector, as well as the establishment of a photovoltaic cell station in Kom Ombo, Aswan, with a capacity of 26 megawatts, and the construction of wind farms (Jabal Al-Zeit 1, 2, 3) with a total capacity 380 megawatts in the Red Sea Governorate, in addition to the construction of a wind farm in the Gulf of Suez, with a capacity of 250 megawatts.