Government aims for 12% wind power by 2020

Zafarana as a first step for Egypt towards its ambitious target for wind energy development

With support from international governments, Egypt has established itself as the leading nation for wind energy development in the Middle East and Africa. Financial backing for technology transfer from Germany, Denmark, Spain and Japan has helped bridge the gap from limited capacity demonstration projects to large scale grid connected wind farms.

 

Based on this experience, the Egyptian government has adopted an ambitious plan to obtain 20% of the country’s electricity supply from renewable energy sources by 2020. This would include a 12% contribution from wind power, requiring the installation of about 7,200 MW of wind farms.

 

To pursue this goal the government is encouraging private sector involvement in wind power generation for the first time. Initially this will be done through competitive bidding for long term power purchase agreements, but eventually the aim is to move towards a ‘feed-in’ tariff payment system as operates in many European states.

 

The government says it will support private investors through assistance on wind resource assessment studies, technical advice and purchasing the electricity produced by their wind farms. A new law guarantees access to the grid for renewable energy generators and long term power purchase contracts.

 

The focus for these new investment models is the El-Zayt area close to the Gulf of Suez – a largely uninhabited area of 656 square kilometres south of Zafarana (where 360 MW of wind farms have already been constructed). With average wind speeds across most of El-Zayt of above 10 metres/second, the National Renewable Energy Agency says there is potential for more than 3,000 MW of wind power capacity.

 

Egypt is also playing host to a regional centre of excellence for renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Middle East and North Africa. Supported by Germany, Denmark and the European Union, the Regional Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency started operating in 2008. One of its core activities will be to strengthen the industrial capabilities and regulatory regimes of countries in the region.