Abu Dhabi: As part of Masdar’s long term investments in renewable energy, the company is seeking investment opportunities in Egypt in the wind farms, according to Masdar.
Sultan Al Jaber had earlier told Gulf News that the company is seeking investments everywhere in the world.
Al Arabiya Satellite Channel was quoted as saying that Masdar is seeking to invest in wind farm in Egypt and the project is estimated to cost Dh2.1 billion.
In February 2010, Masdar had finalised plans to build a 200-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Egypt to hep Egypt meet its goal of sourcing 20 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2020.
Egypt’s renewables target was announced in 2008, and includes a 12 per cent target for wind energy which is equivalent to 7.2 gigawatts.
Egypt, a significant oil and gas player, has one of the best potentials for both wind and solar energy as the country boasts its strong and consistent wind patterns, mainly on the eastern Red Sea coast including Zaafaranah region near Suez.
The would-be project between Masdar and the Egyptian New And Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) had signed an a framework agreement on February 18 of 2010 for a 200 MW wind power plant.
Once launched, the project will be the first collaborative venture between Egypt and the UAE in the field of renewable energy.
At present, Egypt has wind farms at Zafarana and Hurghada on its Red Sea coastline, with an installed capacity of 430 megawatts of wind energy. The area is one of the windiest sites in the Middle East, with average wind speeds of over 9 meters per sec.
Egypt has announced that it is seeking to attract Dh36.8 billion ($110 billion) in investments in its energy sector by 2027 and its agreement with Masdar in 2010 came in the context of enhancing UAE-Egyptian relations in all fields, especially in the field of new and renewable energy.
In 2013, Masdar had launched various wind projects including London Array offshore wind farm, and a wind farm in Seychelles.
