Foreign investments in Egypt's renewable energy rise to $3.5B

CAIRO - 20 January 2022: Foreign direct investments in new and renewable energy projects in Egypt rose to $3.5 billion during 2021, which is double the registered value in 2020, with electricity production of about 3,570 megawatts.

Wind energy projects in the Gulf of Suez region on the Red Sea coast accounted for 78 percent of these investments, and 22 percent for solar energy projects, according to a statement by the Ministry of Electricity, Wednesday.

Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Egyptian economy, the renewable energy sector in Egypt has achieved remarkable successes, according to the statement.

These successes included the entry into commercial production of a 250-megawatt wind power plant owned by a British company in the Gulf of Suez, under a build, own and operate (BOO) system.

The New and Renewable Energy Authority also signed a contract for a 50-megawatt solar cell plant in the Zafarana area, as well as a consultancy contract for a 50-megawatt solar cell plant in Kom Ombo.

The production of hydroelectric power during 2021 reached about 14,000 gigawatt hours, while wind energy projects recorded about 5,400 gigawatt hours.

The energy produced from solar cells connected to the grid amounted to about 4,500 gigawatts / hour, in addition to about 12 gigawatts / hour generated from biofuel projects.

These projects have contributed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 10 million tons, and have created a fuel saving of approximately 4 million tons of oil equivalent.

In terms of small projects, the Egypt-PV small solar cell systems project achieved investments amounting to about LE 118 million for a total capacity of 9 megawatts.

These projects contributed to the production of nearly 13 million kilowatt-hours from the capacities of 125 small solar plants.

This comes within the framework of the electricity sector's strategy to diversify energy sources, expand the use of renewable energy and rationalize the use of traditional energy sources, within the national strategy for renewable energy, which aims to reach the total participation of renewable energy sources to more than 40 percent by 2035.