Masdar on Tuesday announced a deal to secure land in Egypt for the construction of what it said was Africa’s largest wind farm.
The Emirati renewables company and its partners signed the agreement with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority, moving forward with the $10 billion project announced at the North African country’s holding of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations last year.
The wind farm can produce 47,790 gigawatt hours per year, displacing the equivalent of nine percent of Egypt’s annual carbon emissions, or 23.8 million metric tons, Masdar said in a press release.
“The wind farm will also help Egypt achieve its strategic goal of sourcing 42 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030,” Masdar, also known as Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co., said. “The 10 GW plant will save the North African nation about $5 billion in natural gas costs per year.”
Africa’s third most populous country relies primarily on natural gas and oil for its energy needs. Natural gas accounted for 2.13 million terajoules (TJ) of the mix in 2020, while more than 1.25 TJ came from oil, according to the latest data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). published in April 2023. Wind, solar and other sources — excluding coal, biofuels and waste, and hydropower — contributed 31,460 that year, according to the IEA.
Egypt, in its emissions reduction pledge submitted to the UN on July 7, 2022, said the total installed capacity of its wind and solar power plants increased by 340 percent to 3,016 megawatts in 2019-20 compared to the previous five years.
It has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 65 percent in the oil and gas sector, 33 percent in the power sector and 7 percent in transport by 2030, its highest commitment. Towards these Egypt’s goals to increase biofuel production, introduce clean hydrogen into the mix and phase out coal, according to its National Climate Change Strategy 2050.
Masdar chairman Sultan Al-Jaber, who is also the chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), said in the announcement: “It is [the wind project] it is a sign of the strong partnership between the UAE and Egypt, with great potential to create jobs, reduce emissions and power homes with clean electricity at competitive economic costs.
“The world must triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 to meet Paris Agreement targets.”
Al-Jaber, who was appointed by the UAE as president for the COP28 event later this year, added: “The UAE looks forward to hosting COP28, we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Global South in its efforts to decarbonise and ensure a just energy transition”.
Al-Jaber, who as head of ADNOC has faced opposition over his appointment to lead the top UN climate forum, has called for funding commitments from poor countries to help the world meet the goals of reducing emissions. “The poorest nations account for more than half the world’s population, but account for only 12 percent of global emissions, when 800 million people lack access to energy,” he told the Petersburg Climate Dialogue on 2 to May 3 in Berlin.
Masdar said in the press release that it “demonstrated its commitment to African nations by signing agreements to develop renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of up to 5 GW in Angola, Uganda and Zambia in January.”
The COP, the decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, takes place in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December.
Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy said that his country is pursuing investments in green energy not only for domestic use but also for export to Europe given its geographical location.
In addition to the wind farm, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates also signed at COP27 a pact involving Masdar to build a two-gigawatt green hydrogen factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. It is scheduled to begin in 2026, as Masdar announced on November 16.
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