Several UAE firms inked agreements to set up renewables projects in Egypt yesterday, including Masdar and Global South Utilities.

#1- Masdar inks two MoUs for solar plants:

  • A floating solar plant on Lake Nasser could be built under an MoU with state agency Future of Egypt agricultural expansion project, which Wam says will have a capacity of 3 GW (though the Egyptian cabinet statement pegs capacity at 5 GW);
  • The two sides could also establish a solar power plant in Nag Hammadi. Wam pegs capacity at 2 GW, while cabinet pegs it at 2.8 GW.

#2- A renewables-focused industrial zone in East Port Said may also be in the works, courtesy of AD Ports, who inked an MoU for the project with the SCZone yesterday, according to another cabinet statement. The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ-owned company will develop, operate, and manage the 20 sq km zone in East Port Said. The possibility of linking the site with nearby docks and logistics areas is also under study.

What we know so far: The project will start with four factories, two of which will produce solar panels and other bits of solar tech, Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said in his weekly presser. The project will also have facilities producing batteries to store solar power by next summer, he added. The factories will have a capacity of 4 GW of solar panels and 2 GW of battery storage.

This isn’t the first time we heard about the project: Recent meetings in August between government officials and Emirati government and business figures covered a proposal to set up an Emirati industrial zone in East Port Said, which the government said it was considering making a freezone or special economic zone exempt from customs duties.

#3- A USD 12 mn battery storage factory is also in the works, after an MoU was inked between the Industry Ministry, the UAE’s Global South Utilities, and China’s Weiheng, according to a cabinet statement. The facility will have a capacity of 1 GW.

#4- Global South Utilities are also embarking on a factory project with another Chinese company, after inking an MoU with JA Solar for two solar parts factories, according to a cabinet statement. One of the factories will manufacture solar cells with a production capacity of 2 GW at an investment cost of USD 138 mn, alongside another to produce solar panels with the same production capacity at a cost of USD 75 mn.

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