UAE and Egypt sign agreement to advance $10bn wind project

The wind farm is expected to produce nearly 48,000 gigawatt hours of clean energy annually

The Zafarana wind farm in Egypt. The country aims to source 42 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. Victoria Hazou / The National

A group of companies, including Abu Dhabi’s Masdar, have signed an agreement with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority to secure land for a $10 billion wind farm.

Masdar, Egypt's Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities signed an agreement last year to develop the 10-gigawatt project, which is expected to save the North African country $5 billion in annual natural gas costs once operational.

The wind farm will produce 47,790 gigawatt hours of clean energy annually and offset 23.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

“This 10-gigawatt onshore wind project is set to be one of the largest wind farms in the world, and largest on the African continent,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc.

“It is a sign of the strong partnership between the UAE and Egypt, with great potential to create jobs, cut emissions and power homes with clean electricity at competitive economical costs.

“The world needs to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement,” the Cop28 President-designate, who is also chairman of Masdar, added.

Egypt, the Arab world’s third-largest economy, has brought forward its goal of sourcing 42 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2035 to 2030. Its current renewable energy component is about 20 per cent.

The agreement “not only positions us as a leading provider of renewable energy but also strengthens the growing relationship between the Emirates and Egypt”, said Nayer Fouad, chief executive of Infinity Power.

“Apart from being a key source of renewable energy, the farm will also create employment opportunities for local communities.”

In March, Infinity Power, a joint venture between Masdar and Cairo-based Infinity, completed the acquisition of the entire shareholding of Africa’s wind power platform Lekela Power.

Lekela’s portfolio includes 1 gigawatt of operational wind power projects in South Africa, Egypt and Senegal, and a 1.8-gigawatt pipeline of projects in various stages of development across the continent.

Last year, Dubai-based AMEA Power said it secured funding to develop a solar plant and a wind farm in Egypt.

AMEA Power’s wind farm, which is expected to have a capacity of 500 megawatts, will be in the Red Sea region and is being developed in partnership with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, which will own 40 per cent equity in the project.