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ACWA Power and Hassan Allam are going to start building the region’s largest wind farm in 2024: The partners expect to break ground on the USD 1.5 bn, 1.1 GW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez — the largest of its kind in the Middle East — early next year, Al Mal reported, citing officials at ACWA. It will take three years to build the farm in two phases, the daily reports.
Remember: ACWA Power and Hassan Allam Holding signed a 25-year power purchaseagreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) last year to develop the project under a build-own-operate framework.
Where’s the money coming from? Some 70-75% of the funding will come through loans and the remainder will be self-financed by the investors, according to local media reported in November. The project is expected to reach financial close by 4Q 2024.
The farm is getting the attention of investors: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is eyeing a potential investment in the Suez facility, Harry Boyd-Carpenter, the EBRD’s managing director for climate strategy and delivery, previously told Enterprise. The Sovereign Fund of Egypt expressed last year interest in potentially acquiring a 10% stake.
The Madbouly government wants to make a massive investment in wind: Masdar signed a land allocation agreement with the Electricity Ministry earlier this year for a planned 10-GW mega wind farm. That farm and a separate 10 GW facility being built by Masdar / Infinity / Hassan Allam will each be the world’s largest wind farms when complete. In parallel, Scatec is looking to build a 5 GW wind farm.
ACWA is already a significant player in Egypt’s renewable sector: The company’s 200 MW KomOmbo solar power plant last April got USD 114 mn in backing from a consortium of international lenders led by the EBRD. The company also has minority stakes in three plants in Benban and an upcoming project with the EETC to convert an electricity plant in Luxor to renewable energy.
ICYMI- We have big renewables ambitions: Egypt over the summer ramped up its renewables target to 42% of the country’s energy mix by 2030 instead of 2035 and upgraded its emissions reduction goal to 80 mn tons by 2030 from a previous goal of 70 mn tons. The government is aiming to produce 42% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and 60% by 2040.
