Dr. Ahmad Belhoul, CEO of Masdar, Paddy Padmanathan, ACWA Power President and CEO, and Gaber Dessouky, Chairman of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, EEHC, have signed an MoU on the side-lines of the Egyptian Economic Cooperation Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh. The non-binding framework is aimed at increasing Egypt's power generation to meet its growing electricity demands and support economic growth.
Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Egypt's Minister of Electricity And Energy, said, "Egypt is committed to meeting our rising energy needs and encouraging economic growth by developing new power generation in our country. We appreciate the partnership of companies, such as Masdar, ACWA Power and EEHC, which will explore the development of new renewable energy and natural gas facilities to provide electricity for Egyptian homes and businesses."
Masdar, Abu Dhabi's multifaceted renewable energy company, would lead development of renewable energy projects. According to the MoU, the partners will evaluate 2 GW of renewable energy projects, including 1.5 GW of solar and 500 Megawatts of wind. The first project that would be considered is a 200 MW solar photovoltaic plant.
Dr. Belhoul said, "Egypt has one of the fastest growing populations in the Middle East and requires additional electricity to power its economic expansion. As a regional and global leader in delivering large-scale renewable energy projects, Masdar is eager to move forward with our partners to explore sustainable, economic options to improve Egypt's energy security. The significant contribution from renewable energy envisioned in this agreement further confirms the increasing cost-competitiveness of these solutions."
The framework agreement also calls for development of 2.2 GW of combined-cycle natural gas generation led by ACWA Power.
Mr. Padmanathan said, "Egypt is a very important market for us. The Egyptian government efforts in keeping pace with the increasing demand of power and energy to meet the expectations of its developing economy, is a key driver in looking into efficient energy solutions. Through this MoU, the partnership will look into potential opportunities of generating power more efficiently, utilising a broader mix of fuel resources and renewable energy sources, hence providing cutting edge technologies and a more cost competitive approach. Producing 4 Gigawatts of energy will not only sustain economic development but will also position Egypt as one of the globally leading countries in the field of renewable energy."
Egypt has made installing additional power generation capacity a priority, rolling out one of the Middle East and North African region's most ambitious renewable energy programmes as it seeks to meet surging domestic energy demand while curbing reliance on fossil fuel imports.
Mr Dessouky said, "We are pleased to partner with ACWA Power and Masdar to examine the development of new power plants in Egypt, including renewable energy and natural gas. Every day we work to ensure that Egyptians have the electricity they need, and at the same time we are looking at new projects to help provide the power for Egypt's future."
At the end of 2013, Egypt had 31 GW of total installed generating capacity, dominated by natural gas and oil. It had 552MW of wind and 20MW of solar generating capacity. The renewable component, including hydro, is projected to increase to 20% by 2020.