According to one of the key businesses supporting the project, Infinity Power, one of the largest wind farms in the world is being developed in Egypt and is scheduled to start operating in 2030.
A coalition led by Masdar and Infinity Power Holdings, two companies owned by Abu Dhabi, is constructing a $11 billion wind farm that, when finished, may supply electricity to Saudi Arabia and Europe.
Mohamed Mansour, chairman of Infinity Power, said that the project will have an output capacity of 10 gigawatts and will become operational by the end of this decade.
Mansour added that the consortium, which includes Egypt’s Hassan Allam Utilities, hopes to secure land for the project this year, primarily in two locations in the north African country’s Western Desert: one near Minya and the other near Aswan.
He added that these locations are ideal for such a project, as wind speeds could reach 10 meters per second in these areas.
It was during the UN’s Climate Change Summit that Egypt and the UAE signed a memorandum of understanding to build this wind power project, aiming to turn the country into a regional electricity hub.
According to the Information and Decision Support Center of the Egyptian Cabinet, Egypt topped the list of Arab countries in the production of wind power and solar energy in July, with 3.5 gigawatts of capacity, and plans to reach 6.8 gigawatts in 2024.
Earlier in November, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Co. signed an initial agreement with Egyptian entities to build a 10-gigawatt project to produce electricity from wind energy in the north African country.
The agreement was signed during a meeting in Riyadh between Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
The two ministers discussed the potential for future collaboration in hydrogen and renewable energy during the meeting, as well as the status of the electrical interconnection between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
As part of the agreement, Egypt will offer the lands required to conduct project feasibility studies before signing the final contracts.
The 1,100 megawatt wind farm, which is situated in Egypt’s Gulf of Suez, received a $1.5 billion investment from ACWA Power in June.
