Masdar, Elsewedy Electric and Marubeni to develop 800 MW wind project in Egypt

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Abu Dhabi-based Masdar, Egyptian energy technology developer Elsewedy Electric and Marubeni Corporation have signed an agreement to develop an 800 MW wind project in Egypt. The estimated investment required has not been disclosed.

This follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Elsewedy Electric, Marubeni Corporation and the Government of Egypt to develop a 250 MW wind power plant in the Gulf of Suez on BOO (Build, Own and Operate) basis in March 2017. At that time Elsewedy disclosed that the project would be pre-developed in less than eighteen months, and that the consortium aimed to achieve commercial operation of the first phase in mid-2020.

The firms have not disclosed whether this tripartite agreement is connected to the former.

Marubeni Corp is one of the largest independent power producers (IPP) in the Middle East with 13,811 MW of capacity. It is currently developing the world’s largest solar power plant in the UAE - the 1,177 MW Sweihan solar project in Abu Dhabi.

Masdar has a number of solar plants in development in partnership with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority. These include the 10MW Siwa Solar PV plant; four PV plants in the Red Sea governorate with a combined capacity of 14MW; and three PV installations in Al Wadi Al Jadeed with a combined capacity of 6MW.

Masdar also has an extensive wind portfolio, including the London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind farm currently in operation; the Tafila wind farm in Jordan, the Middle East’s first utility-scale wind farm; Cibuk I in Serbia, the largest wind project in the Western Balkans, and Hywind Scotland, the world’s first commercial-scale floating wind park.

Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy recently announced that the country is aiming to generate 42% of its electricity from renewables by 2025. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the country aims to install 7.2 GW of wind power by 2020 and 3.5 GW of solar by 2027.

The signing took place at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which was hosted by Masdar. Billed as the largest sustainability gathering in the Middle East, the Week featured the World Future Energy Summit (WFES), the International Water Summit and the International Renewable Energy Agency meeting. Across the week over US$15 billion worth of projects and funding were announced.