Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has signed a USD 5 billion (EGP 154.5 billion) agreement with Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec to build a 5 GW wind power plant.
This was disclosed in a statement released by the Egyptian Cabinet. The Cabinet confirmed that a piece of land in Egypt’s West Sohag Province has been reserved for the project. It aims to contribute to Egypt’s goal of increasing its renewable energy capacity by becoming one of the biggest wind stations in the world.
“It will contribute to the achievement of the goals of the Egyptian government with regard to doubling renewable energy contribution to its energy mix,” said CEO of Scatec Terje Pilskog.
The Cabinet said in its statement that Norway’s investment will play a crucial role in helping Egypt achieve its goal of having renewable energy account for 42 percent of its overall energy usage by 2030.
“The collaboration between the Egyptian government and private sector entities, such as Scatec, leverages international expertise in renewable energy, making significant strides towards sustainable economic growth,” said the Cabinet’s statement.
The wind power station project in West Sohag is expected to generate around 8,000 job opportunities during the construction phase.Further, it is expected to create additional 300 permanent job opportunities, once the station is operational.
Egypt’s agreement with Scatec marks another milestone in its plans to boost its wind farm sector,noted the statement.
Recently, the government also signed agreements with UAE’s Masdar and Saudi-owned ACWA Power to develop two separate ten-gigawatt wind farms. Presently, Egypt’s largest wind farm is the 545-megawatt facility in Zafarana located in the Red Sea Governorate.
