Sunday 24 Nov
Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy is poised to sign an agreement with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) this quarter to initiate a wind power plant, according to an anonymous government official who spoke with Bloomberg Businessweek.
The official disclosed that the
project's total generation capacity will reach 200 megawatts and will be
executed under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangement. This entails the
investor financing, constructing, and owning the facility, with the Egyptian
Electricity Transmission Company purchasing the entire output throughout its
operational life.
The official stated that the
project's total investment could reach $180 million but declined to specify the
planned location of the facility. He noted that the Egyptian Electricity
Transmission Company is currently finalizing the terms of the agreement prior
to contract signing.
The Egyptian government has
decided to delay the implementation of the scheduled electricity price
increase, originally planned for the beginning of July, by two months. The new
prices will take effect on September 1st.
The official explained that the
new power plant will be integrated into Egypt's electricity grid to leverage
its capacity. This aligns with the government's recent push to increase
reliance on clean energy sources, as the country faces challenges in supplying
sufficient gas and fuel oil to its power plants.
A consortium comprising Masdar, Africa's largest renewable energy company Infinity Power, and Hassan Allam Utilities signed an agreement with the Egyptian government last May to secure land for a 10,000-megawatt wind power plant. This project, with an investment exceeding $10 billion, is poised to become one of the world's largest wind farms.
