The Egyptian wind farm which will be expanded / Image: Red Sea Wind Energy.
Egypt wants to make renewable energy one of its priorities, and seeks to prove it with the expansion of a wind farm which should become the largest in Africa.
Determined to play a major role in Africa’s energy transition, Egypt has just validated the extension of one of the continent’s largest wind farms, still under construction. Originally, the Red Sea Wind Energy wind farm, located 70 km northwest of Ras Ghareb, was already expected to reach a capacity of 500 MW thanks to a financial investment of some $600 million.
But Engie has just announced planning for a 150 MW extension, which should be commissioned in the third quarter of 2025. Currently, 306 MW of the 500 MW of wind turbines have already been connected to the Egyptian electricity grid.
Egypt emphasizes carbon-free energy
Despite an electricity mix still largely dominated by fossil fuels (88%), Egypt has great ambitions in terms of energy transition. In addition to the construction of a nuclear power plant on the shores of the Mediterranean, the country is relying heavily on renewable energies. It has also set itself the objective of reaching 42% renewable energy in its electricity mix by 2030.
To do this, we will have to work hard. The country therefore plans to renovate and expand two of its main land parks. The Jabal al-Zeit park, which includes 300 turbines with a power of 580 MW, will be expanded to reach 1.1 GW.
-Also read
Egypt, future superproducer of hydrogen for Europe?
The Zafarna park, built further north between the years 2000 and 2010, will be completely revised. Despite its almost 700 turbines in operation, it has a power of only 545 MW. A large turbine replacement project is expected to increase its power to 1.1 GW. At the same time, the site is expected to be equipped with 2.1 GW of photovoltaic panels to make it one of the largest hybrid power plants in the world.
More generally, last May, the Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) launched an allocation process for nearly 6 million square meters of land, to enable the development of 27 GW of projects solar and wind. To achieve such installed power, the NREA plans investments of $40 billion over the next 10 years.
Also read
This giant phosphate deposit will revolutionize the energy transition in Europe
