Egypt’s government recently signed an agreement with a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power for wind energy production in the Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Zeit. The project will have a capacity of 1.1 gigawatts and investments amounting to $1.5 billion.
Mohammed Al-Khayyat, chair of Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority; Mohamed Hamdouch, ACWA’s vice president for business development; and Hassan Amin, director of ACWA Power Egypt signed the agreement.
Reducing carbon emissions
Dr. Mohamed Shaker, Egypt’s minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, said in a statement that the project is the largest wind energy project in the Middle East. It is also one of the largest onshore wind energy projects in the world. The project will contribute to reducing 2.4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Moreover, it will help save about 840 thousand tons of fuel annually and provide electricity to one million housing units in Egypt.
For his part, Thomas Brostrom, ACWA Power’s chief investment officer, explained that the project will use the latest wind turbine technologies. It will incorporate 220-meter-tall wind turbines, making it one of the tallest in the Gulf of Suez region.
Green hydrogen project
Earlier, Egypt signed another agreement with ACWA Power to develop a green hydrogen project. This project’s investments exceeded $4 billion.
Egypt’s Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, witnessed the signing ceremony of the agreement between ACWA Power and:
- The Sovereign Fund of Egypt
- The General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone
- The Egyptian Electricity Transmission
- The New and Renewable Energy Authority
Read: Global renewable energy capacity surges by 50 percent in 2023
600 thousand tons of green energy
Egyptian Minister of Electricity, Dr. Mohamed Shaker, said that the agreement will start developing the first phase of the green hydrogen project. The project’s first phase will have a capacity of up to 600 thousand tons annually of green ammonia. Additionally, its second phase will have a production capacity of 2 million tons annually.
Moreover, ACWA Power stated that it will utilize its expertise in the green hydrogen field to expand the market in Egypt.
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