RIYADH: One of the world’s largest wind farms being built in Egypt is set to become operational by 2030 with construction set to begin in 2024, according to Infinity Power, one of the main companies backing the project.
The $11 billion wind farm is being built by a consortium led by Abu Dhabi-owned Masdar and Infinity Power Holdings, and upon completion, the project could provide electricity to Saudi Arabia and Europe, Bloomberg reported.
Mohamed Mansour, chairman of Infinity Power, said that the project will have an output capacity of 10 gigawatts and will become operational by the end of this decade.
Mansour further noted that the consortium, which also includes Egypt’s Hassan Allam Utilities, is eyeing to secure land for the project this year, primarily at two locations in the north African country’s Western Desert – one near Minya and the other Aswan.
He added these locations are ideal for such a project, as wind speed could reach 10 meters per second in these areas.
It was during the UN’s Climate Change Summit that Egypt and the UAE signed a memorandum of understanding to build this wind power project, aiming to turn the country into a regional electricity hub.
According to the Information and Decision Support Center of the Egyptian Cabinet, Egypt topped the list of Arab countries in the production of wind power and solar energy in July, with 3.5 gigawatts of capacity, and plans to reach 6.8 gigawatts in 2024.
Earlier in November, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Co. signed an initial agreement with Egyptian entities to build a 10 gigawatts project to produce electricity from wind energy in the north African country.
The agreement was signed during a meeting in Riyadh between Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
During the meeting, the two ministers followed up on the progress of the electrical interconnection between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and also discussed the possibilities of further cooperation in renewable energy and hydrogen.
As a part of the deal, Egypt will provide the lands necessary to carry out feasibility studies for the project before signing the final contracts.
In June, ACWA Power invested $1.5 billion to develop, build, and operate the 1,100-megawatt wind farm, located in the Gulf of Suez in Egypt.
