More financing for Acwa-HAU mega wind farm: Saudi renewables giant Acwa Power and Hassan Allam Utilities (HAU) have secured a USD 170 mn loan from The African Development Bank (AfDB) to support their USD 1.1 bn, 1.1 GW Suez wind farm, according to a press release. Additional financing is expected to come from a consortium of Development Finance Institutions and banks.

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We should hear an update soon on a USD 200 mn loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the project, which has passed its final review and is only pending approval, according to a project summary from the lender.

REMEMBER- The two companies are set to secure close to USD 900 mn in financing by the end of the year for their 1.1 GW wind farm in Gulf of Suez, a source with knowledge of the matter told EnterpriseAM in September. It’s unknown whether the AfDB and EBRD loans were part of the count.

About the plant: When operational by the end of 2026, the project — developed by Acwa and Hassan Allam — is set to offset 2.2 mn tons of carbon dioxide annually and produce 4.1 TWh of power annually, enough power for nearly 1.1 mn households. The wind farm’s 1.1 GW capacity will mark it as the largest wind project in both Africa and the Middle East.

This isn’t the only Gulf of Suez wind project: The Red Sea Wind Energy (RSWE) — a JV between Orascom Construction (OC), Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corporation/Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation, and France’s Engie — achieved a financial close for Ras Ghareb wind farm in April 2023. Later in August, Egypt’s cabinet approved a bid submitted by the consortium to add 150 MW of capacity, bringing the farm’s capacity to 650 MW. EBRD is also reportedly funding this wind farm, with some USD 21.3 mn in financing.

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