Dubai’s AMEA Power advances wind, solar projects in Egypt

Another Emirati renewable energy project was announced in Egypt today. 

The Dubai-based AMEA Power has finalized its recently announced solar and wind projects in Egypt. Each project will deliver 500 megawatts of power and the total investment amounts to $1.1 billion, AMEA Power said in a press release. 

The wind farm will be located in the Red Sea governorate, while the solar plant will be located in the Aswan governorate, which includes the eponymous dam. The original deal was made with the Egyptian government earlier this month. A variety of entities are financing the project, including the International Finance Corporation and several Japanese banks. 

Why it matters: Many renewable energy projects are coming out of the United Arab Emirates these days as the Gulf state seeks to diversify its economy. About a third of the UAE economy is based on oil and gas. The following is a list of notable wind and solar energy projects from Emirati entities this year:

• The Emirati renewable energy firm Masdar announced a new wind farm in Egypt this month during the COP27 climate change conference. 
• The Dubai-based Lamprell announced in September a wind energy project in the United Kingdom. 
• Masdar announced in August solar and wind power projects in Tanzania. 
• Masdar and the Azerbaijani government pledged in June to develop onshore wind and solar power projects in the country. 
• AMEA Power agreed in April to build two solar power facilities in Morocco. 

Know more: Egypt has a few incentives to boost its renewable energy capabilities. The Egyptian government announced an electricity consumption reduction plan this summer in a bid to boost gas exports. Egypt has also experienced some power cuts in recent years, and is seeking to obtain more electricity from Saudi Arabia. Fuel prices in Egypt have also risen this year. 

Egypt has some wind farms already, including those in Ras Ghareb and West Bakr. Egypt also has solar power plants, the biggest of which is the 2,000-megawatt Benban plant.