Egypt continues its renewables push: The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and the New and Renewable Energy Authority have signed two MoUs with three major energy players to explore clean energy projects with a production capacity of 5.2 GW, including 3.1 GW from wind and 2.1 GW from solar power, according to a statement released on Thursday.
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What we know: UAE’s Alcazar Energy will conduct studies for a 2 GW wind power project and a consortium composed of Taqa Arabia and France’s Voltalia will explore a 3.2 GW project mixing wind and solar energy to repower the Zafarana wind farm, whose turbines are approaching the end of their operational life, Voltalia said in a statement (pdf). The MoUs will allow comprehensive environmental and technical feasibility studies including wind speed, solar radiation, bird migration, and topographic studies, the statement notes.
More on Voltalia + Taqa Arabia’s possible project in Zafarana: The two companies said they have developed a preliminary plan for a hybrid renewable energy project on plots 5-8 of the Zafarana wind farm. The project would maximize land use in the plots, with a possible launch date in 2028, Voltalia said.
Voltalia is already active in Egypt: A consortium of Taqa Arabia and Voltalia signed a framework agreement to build a USD 3.5 bn green ammonia project at Ain Sokhna with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) in June.
And Alcazar has been eyeing projects in Egypt: The company was one of many local and foreign investors interested in acquiring stakes in Egypt’s 580 MW Gabal El Zeit wind farm and the 545 MW Zafarana wind farm.