Masdar & Partners to Develop 10 GW Wind Power Plant in Egypt

ABU DHABI, 6th June, 2020 (WAM) — The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar, the world’s leading renewable energy company, announced its consortium of partners, which includes Infinity Power, the largest renewable energy company in Africa, and Hassan Allam Utilities, a company specializing in infrastructure investments. Sustainable, announced the signing of an agreement with the “New and Renewable Energy Authority” in the Arab Republic of Egypt, to provide a plot of land dedicated to the development of a wind power plant project with a production capacity of 10 gigawatts at an investment cost exceeding $ 10 billion, which, upon completion, will constitute one of the largest wind power stations in the world. .

The signing ceremony of the agreement, which was held in Cairo, was attended by His Excellency Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt, His Excellency Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Masdar”, and His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Shaker Al-Marqabi, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy of the Republic of Egypt. Arab Egypt, Mohamed Jamil Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, Nayer Fouad, CEO of Infinity Power, and Hassan and Amr Allam, CEOs of Hassan Allam Holding.

When completed, the wind power plant will produce 47,790 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually, and will contribute to avoiding the emission of 23.8 million tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to approximately 9% of Egypt’s current carbon dioxide emissions.

The project will contribute to achieving Egypt’s goal of renewable energy making up 42% of the energy mix by 2030.

The 10 GW wind power project will allow Egypt to save an estimated $5 billion annually in annual natural gas costs.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, “may God protect him”, and His Excellency Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, President of the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt, witnessed the signing ceremony of the basic agreement for the development of the station, on the sidelines of the COP27 Climate Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh last year, where The agreement was signed by Masdar and its consortium of partners, “Hassan Allam Utilities” and “Infinity Power”, in addition to the “Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company”.

As a leading company in the field of clean energy at the state and global levels, Masdar continues its leading role in supporting the development of many clean energy projects locally, regionally and globally, as well as its firm commitment to contributing to supporting African countries to achieve their ambitious goals in the field of renewable energy.

The project will be developed by a consortium led by Masdar with its partners, Infinity Power, a joint venture between Masdar, Egypt’s Infinity, the largest renewable energy company in Africa, and Hassan Allam Utilities, an infrastructure investment platform. sustainable.

His Excellency Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber said: “In line with the directives of the leadership to work to promote sustainable economic and social development and to spread renewable energy solutions, we are pleased to conclude this agreement, which consolidates partnership and close cooperation in the field of renewable energy between the UAE and the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt.”

His Excellency added that this strategic project is of great importance, as it is one of the largest projects in this field in the world and on the African continent, and will contribute to providing many job opportunities, reducing emissions and generating clean electric power at a competitive economic cost.

His Excellency stressed the important role of such projects in supporting global efforts to reduce the repercussions of climate change, explaining that the UAE will focus, during hosting the COP28 Climate Conference, on achieving a quantum leap in climate action, unifying efforts and joining forces, and forging partnerships, and urging the world to provide the necessary funding for action. Climate change by developing the performance of international financing institutions and donor countries’ implementation of their financial commitments, focusing on achieving a logical, realistic, gradual and just transition in the energy sector, and focusing our efforts on reducing emissions, not slowing growth and progress.

For his part, Dr. Mohamed Shaker Al-Marqabi stated that Egypt has adopted an ambitious program to advance the Egyptian electricity sector in various fields, foremost of which is maximizing the exploitation of new and renewable energy resources and encouraging investment in this field, which would contribute to reducing dependence on fossil fuels, while continuing to reduce carbon emissions. This is in line with the energy strategy of the Arab Republic of Egypt to reach the percentage of renewable energy sources in the energy mix up to 42% by 2030, in addition to its integration with the National Climate Strategy 2050 to ensure facing the challenges of climate change and achieving sustainable economic growth.

His Excellency added that this project is an extension of the historical relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and reflects the bonds of fruitful and constructive cooperation between the two brotherly countries. It also confirms the ability of renewable energy in Egypt to attract direct foreign investments and confirms the role of Egyptian national institutions in creating an investment climate that enjoys low risks Positive interaction with financing institutions and development partners, as well as the comparative advantages of Egypt in terms of the availability of lands necessary to produce a huge volume of electricity from renewable energies, as well as Egypt’s geographical location that enables it to export green energy to Europe, depending on what the Egyptian state has done to support and raise the efficiency of the network. National Electricity.

Last March, Masdar announced that Infinity Power, the joint venture between Masdar and Egyptian Infinity, had completed the acquisition of all shares of Lekela Power, which is developing several renewable energy projects in Africa, a deal that makes Infinity Power the largest renewable energy company on the African continent.

Masdar also showed its commitment to supporting the clean energy sector on the continent by signing agreements last January to develop renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 5 gigawatts in Angola, Uganda and Zambia.

For his part, Mohammed Jamil Al-Ramahi said: “Masdar is proud to cooperate with strategic partners around the world, to achieve the greatest positive impact that is directly reflected on brotherly Egypt in all commercial and economic fields, contributes to facing the urgent challenges of climate change, and supports global efforts to develop sustainable solutions.” To produce energy using the latest available technologies and the lowest competitive costs.

He added that this huge project, which will contribute to improving life and livelihood, is the culmination of the hard work and solid partnership between the “Infinity Power” joint venture between “Masdar”, “Infinity of Egypt” and “Hassan Allam Utilities”.

For his part, Nayer Fouad said: “This project is a major achievement for Infinity Power, which embodies the partnership between Masdar and Infinity Power as a leading investment platform in the field of renewable energy. The wind farm project not only consolidates our leading position as one of the major Renewable energy in Egypt and the region, but also strengthens the bilateral relations between Egypt and the UAE .. In addition to being a major source of renewable energy, the wind power plant will also provide many job opportunities for local communities.

In this context, Amr Allam expressed his pride in launching a wind energy project with a capacity of 10 gigawatts, in partnership with Masdar and Infinity Power.

He added, “The importance of this project stems from the fact that it meets Egypt’s growing energy needs, in addition to being in line with Egypt’s sustainable development goals. We are confident that this cooperation will achieve its goals, paving the way towards a more sustainable and prosperous future for Egypt.”

Egypt is one of the largest countries in terms of population density in the Middle East and North Africa and enjoys abundant resources of solar and wind energy. Masdar is very active in Egypt through a portfolio of projects that it has begun to develop since 2015, and as a launching pad targeting the African continent through the platform ” Infinity Power”.