Egypt's $10 billion wind energy project announced by 2022 has moved a step closer to execution after the consortium in charge of the renewable energy project signed an agreement on June 6 to secure the required land. Led by Masdar, the UAE government-owned renewable energy company, the consortium signed an agreement with Egypt's New and Renewable Energy Authority to secure the construction of onshore wind farms with a capacity of 10 gigawatts in the country.

The consortium also includes Infinity Power, Africa's largest renewable energy developer, and Egypt's Hassan Allam Utilities, an investment platform for electricity, renewable energy and water-related opportunities. The agreement will help Egypt meet its annual target of cutting carbon emissions by 9 percent, as the onshore wind farm will generate 47,790 gigawatt hours of clean energy per year while displacing 23.8 million tons of carbon dioxide.

The North African country has set a goal of sourcing 42 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. That said, the new plant is estimated to save Egypt about $5 billion a year in gas costs. Masdar said the agreement underpins its commitment to support African countries such as Egypt in meeting their ambitious renewable energy targets.

The 10 GW onshore wind project will be one of the largest wind farms in the world and the largest on the African continent, said Sultan Al-Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Masdar Chairman and COP28 chairman-designate.

This is a sign of the strong partnership between the UAE and Egypt, with great potential to create jobs, reduce emissions and provide clean electricity to households at a competitive economic cost. Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker Al-Markabi, stressed that renewable energy in the country has the potential to attract foreign direct investment.

Egyptian state entities play a vital role in creating an environment that supports low-risk investments and a high level of interaction with financial institutions and development partners. During COP27 in 2022, Masdar, Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities also signed agreements with several Egyptian state-backed organizations to develop production facilities for green hydrogen and derivatives.Editor/XingWentao