The government of Egypt has earmarked 5,200 square kilometres (sqkm) of land for development of renewable energy projects by both public and private sector developers, this is according to revelations by the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA).
The land allocated for development of renewable energy projects is sufficient for production of up to 60,000 megawatts of electricity.
The land allocation for renewables comes at a time where Egypt is experiencing a renewable energy boom. The North African country is projecting a remarkable growth of renewable energy projects under development to 3,570 MW by the third quarter of this year, and foreign direct investments amounting to $3.5 billion, twice over the same period of 2020.
The projects are largely being implemented by international renewable energy companies. In the Gulf of Suez region, where the average wind speed reaches 10.5 meters per second, 78% of projects under development there are wind energy projects, and 22% for solar power projects.
The government is hoping the land allocation will help continue the growth trajectory in renewable energy deployment in the country. The North African country targets to increase the supply of electricity generated from renewable energy sources to 42 percent by 2035.
The New and Renewable Energy Authority, an Egyptian government owned entity responsible for promotion and development of renewable energy projects in the North African country has been allocated in the areas of Zafarana, Gulf of Suez, East Nile, West Nile, Aswan and Benban.
The NREA has a pipeline of projects under construction and planned projects underway. The government entity is nearing the completion of its 50MW solar plant in the Zafarana area constructed for an estimated investment of EGP 700 million (US$38 million), and is expected to start operating in the third quarter of this year.
The NREA is also developing a 250 MW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez area and is expected to be operational in the second half of next year.
In the Benban Solar Complex, there are 32 plots of land for projects currently in operation via “feed-in tariff”, and seven lands available for the implementation of solar energy projects, either through NREA, or in cooperation with the private sector.
