Egypt, UAE ink deals to establish 200 MW wind power generation plant in Gulf of Suez

CAIRO – 17 August 2024: The Egyptian government, alongside the Egyptian-Emirati joint venture Infinity Power, and UAE’s Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) have inked two agreements for the development of a wind power production plant boasting a capacity of 200 MW in the Gulf of Suez.

Under the agreements, the Masdar-Infinity alliance will develop, finance, and operate the project, with commercial operations expected to commence in October 2026, according to a statement by the Egyptian Cabinet.

This project is poised to bolster the percentage of renewable energy within Egypt's electricity mix, aligning with the state's objectives to reach its renewable energy targets, added the statement.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat, and UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Al Jaber attended the signing ceremony on Saturday.

Signatories to the agreements are Chairman of Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) Mohamed El-Khayat, Chairman of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company Salah Ezzat, CEO of Infinity Power Nayer Fouad, and CEO of Masdar Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi.

This milestone signing follows a meeting held a month prior between Prime Minister Madbouly and UAE officials, including Minister Al Jaber and Masdar’s CEO Al Ramahi. Discussions centered on Egyptian-Emirati collaboration to integrate about 4 GW of renewable energy into Egypt’s power grid by the upcoming summer.

During the July meeting, Madbouly underscored that Egypt’s daily power consumption had recently surpassed 37.3 GW per day, emphasizing the necessity of introducing a substantial amount of new and renewable energy into the national grid.

In today’s meeting with Madbouly, Al Jaber underlined Egyptian-Emirati collaboration over the coming period to complete the integration of 4 GW into the Egyptian network within a year, emphasizing UAE’s commitment to advancing gas projects in Egypt as well.

In 2023, the Egyptian government, Masdar, Infinity Power, and Hassan Allam Utilities sealed an agreement to allocate land for the construction of a 10 GW onshore wind farm in Egypt, slated to be among the largest globally, with total investments exceeding $10 billion.

Upon completion, this groundbreaking wind project is anticipated to generate 47,790 GWh of clean energy annually, curbing about 9% of Egypt’s yearly carbon emissions by displacing 23.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, according to the Cabinet.

Moreover, the wind farm will play a pivotal role in assisting Egypt in achieving its strategic objective of sourcing 42% of its energy from renewables by 2035, potentially saving the country an estimated $5 billion in natural gas expenses annually.