5 new power plants to be built in Suez, Aswan thanks to lowered renewables price

CAIRO – 6 February 2021: Five new power plants run by solar and wind energy are being established in Suez Gulf and Aswan, with a total capacity up to one thousand megawatts, and a total cost of one billion and 500 million dollars.

A recent decision to decrease the price of a kilowatt/hour of renewable energy in Egypt is believed to have contributed in attracting foreign and local investments into the field.

The price of a kilowatt/hour for the solar energy is now 2 cents, while the wind energy will charge 3 cents.

“The current prices of the solar and wind energy in Egypt, after the reduction, are considered the lowest cost globally,” said Mohamed el-Khayat, the head of the New and Renewable Energy Authority.

He explained that Egypt is planning to expand its reliance on renewables as part of its energy mix as part of the Energy Strategy 2035.

“Wind projects with a capacity of 500 megawatts are currently being implemented in the Gulf of Suez area (250 megawatts owned by the authority, and 250 megawatts owned by the English company Lekela),” he said.

El-Khayyat added that another project to generate electricity from solar cells with a capacity of 70 megawatts is underway, in cooperation with both the German and Japanese government.