Maersk may snap up 50% of Zafarana wind farm: The Egyptian government has given initial approval for Danish shipping company Maersk’s acquisition of a 50% share in Egypt’s 545 MW Zafarana wind farm, Al Mal reported on Thursday, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter. If Maersk reaches an agreement with Egypt, it would use the clean energy produced for its planned USD 15 bn green hydrogen project in the country.

The project: Launched in 2011, the project spans 120 sq km, comprising 700 wind turbines that offset c. 648k tons of CO2 equivalent annually. The project was financed through soft loans provided by Denmark, Spain, Japan, and Germany.

Next steps: The Egyptian government, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), and the country’s electricity minister have reportedly asked the Danish company to submit a financial offer for its share of the project in preparation for negotiations, the news outlet notes.

Not the only windy Maersk spot in Egypt: The Egyptian Cabinet approved in May requests by Norway’s Scatec and Maersk to allocate land for a planned 320 MW wind farm to power the company’s green projects which include Scatec’s 100 MW green hydrogen plant and Maersk’s USD 15 bn clean fuel project.

And there’s another Egyptian wind farm up for grabs: Egypt is selling off shares in the state-owned 580 MW Gabal El Zeit wind farm which is included on the list of 32 companies and assets earmarked for privatization by the government. The farms have attracted significant interest among investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, the UAE’s Alcazar Energy, the UK’s Actis, and Egypt-based renewables firm Infinity. The Egyptian government is looking to secure over USD 300 mn by selling Gabal El Zeit, Planning Minister Hala El Said said earlier this month, adding that it accepted the highest bid in June after receiving a number of non-binding offers. The buyer will be given 60 days to conduct due diligence on the asset before the sale, which is expected to be finalized by October.

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