Egypt has secured $275 million in funding to build and operate Africa’s largest wind farm. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided $200 million, while Arab Bank and Standard Chartered have contributed $75 million to support the Suez Wind project.
The project is co-financed by the African Development Bank, British International Investment, Germany’s Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, Opec Fund for International Development, and Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation.
Located in the Gulf of Suez, the wind farm will have an installed capacity of 1.1 gigawatts (GW), delivering renewable energy at a cost below conventional power generation.
It is expected to generate over 4,300 GWh of electricity annually and reduce annual CO2 emissions by more than 2.2 million tonnes, aligning with Cairo’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
The EBRD is a key development partner in the energy pillar of Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food & Energy programme (NWFE), which was unveiled at COP27.
The wind power plant is one of the first projects developed under NWFE’s energy pillar and contributes to the program’s 10 GW renewable energy target. It supports Egypt’s broader efforts to decarbonize its fossil fuel-dominated power sector and meet renewable energy goals.
Suez Wind is a special-purpose vehicle jointly owned by Saudi-listed Acwa Power and HAU Energy, a renewable energy equity platform created by EBRD, Hassan Allam Utilities, and Meridiam Africa Investments.
Egypt’s minister of planning, economic development, and international cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, said that funding has so far been secured for projects with a capacity of 4.7 GW.
“We are working collaboratively to meet the program’s targets to reduce Egypt’s fuel consumption and expand clean energy projects,” she said.
As a founding member of the EBRD, Egypt has invested €13.3 billion ($13.8 billion) across 194 projects nationwide.
