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Acwa Power secures land for 10GW Egypt project

18 July 2023

Saudi Arabia-headquartered utility developer and investor Acwa Power and the Egyptian New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to allocate land outside Sohag for a 10GW wind power generation project.

The MoU allocates about 3,000 square kilometres of land west of Sohag, Acwa Power said on 17 July.

The wind project is expected to generate about 50,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean energy annually, providing electricity to an estimated 11 million households and mitigating the impact of 25.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

Acwa Power signed an MoU with NREA to build the wind energy project in November last year.

The agreement was signed during a meeting in Riyadh between Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud.

MEED reported at the time that Egypt will be providing the land necessary to carry out feasibility studies for the project ahead of the signing of the final contracts. 

Additional projects

Acwa Power is involved in two other ongoing renewable energy projects in the North African state.

In June 2022, a consortium of Acwa Power and the local Hassan Allam Holding signed a project agreement for a 1,100MW wind independent power project (IPP) in Egypt.

The consortium will work during the development phase to complete the site studies and secure financing for the project, which will require an investment of $1.5bn.

The wind project is expected to reach financial close by the third quarter of 2024 and be commercially operational by the end of 2026.

Egypt's Council of Ministers approved signing a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the scheme in November 2021.

It is understood the 1,100MW wind IPP is a replacement for the previously planned 2,300MW gas-fired IPP in Luxor, which has been cancelled.

Acwa Power is also developing a 200MW solar IPP scheme in Kom Ombo. It secured a $123m financing package to develop the plant in April.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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