Egypt’s largest wind farm begins operations ahead of schedule

• Red Sea wind farm in Ras Ghareb
• Ops begin 6 months early
• Egypt struggles with energy

Egypt-listed Orascom Construction has commenced commercial operations at the newly expanded Red Sea wind farm six months ahead of schedule.

The largest operational wind farm in Africa is being developed by the Red Sea Wind Energy consortium under a 25-year build-own-operate scheme, the company said in a statement.

The alliance comprises France’s Engie (35 percent), Orascom (25 percent) and Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation holding 20 percent each.

This phase includes commercial operations of 500MW at the 650MW site in Ras Ghareb, Egypt.

Two years ago Egyptian minister of electricity and renewable energy, Mohamed Shaker, said the project would “be connected to the national grid in two phases, with full commercial operation planned during the third quarter of 2025.”

The wind farm will generate clean energy for more than 1 million homes, reducing carbon emissions by 1.5 million tonnes annually and contributing to Egypt’s energy transition goals.

The consortium has begun evaluating and developing a 900MW wind farm near the current project site on a newly allocated land plot.

Orascom Construction aims to expand its renewable energy and overall concessions portfolios, including 912MW of wind farms and three water projects in Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

In March a consortium comprising Orascom and Spain’s Técnicas Reunidas signed a contract to build a 3GW gas-fired power plant in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

The company’s Middle East and Africa portfolio has a total capacity exceeding 30GW, including two 4.8GW combined cycle gas-fired power plants in Egypt.

Egypt has long struggled with energy blackouts as the cash-strapped Cairo government reached crisis point last summer.

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In July prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said that despite the country having prepared for increased demand, summer heatwaves created temperatures that “nobody could have imagined”, damaging generators and transmission infrastructure, and pushing peak consumption up from 37GW to a record 38.5GW. 

To meet this increased demand, Madbouly said, the country needs to add 4GW of renewable energy capacity by this year.

In December the Saudi energy company Acwa Power signed agreements worth more than $700 million to fund the development, construction, operation and maintenance of a wind power plant in the Suez governate of Egypt.