Al Nowais Investments will spend about USD 1 billion (or EUR 885 million) to build PV power plants and wind farms that collectively have a generation capacity of 1GW in Egypt. In early December, the Egyptian government and Al Nowais signed an agreement for a 200MW PV project in Kom Ombo and a 500MW wind project in Ras Gharib. These stories were first reported by news agencies including Reuters and Bloomberg Asharq as well as other renewable energy news websites.
Kom Ombo is a town in the desert of Aswan Governorate and known for its ancient ruins. Ras Gharib is a town on the coast of the Red Sea Governorate and known its oil production. Al Nowais said that the 1GW of renewable generation capacity will be installed within a timeframe of two to three years. The electricity from these projects will be sold under PPAs that have been arranged with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC). The 200MW PV project in Kom Ombo and the 500MW wind project in Ras Gharib will be developed under the model of build-own-operate partnership. Mohamed Shaker, who heads Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, told Reuters that the two projects will cost EGP 16 billion (or USD 900 million).
Named after its founder and chairman, Al Nowais Investments owns AMEA Power that is based in the UAE and develops renewable energy projects around the world. In Egypt, AMEA Power is already installing PV generation capacity in Aswan Governorate and wind power generation capacity in Red Sea Governorate. The latest deals thus represent further expansions.
Al Nowais is also interested in building green hydrogen and desalination plants in Egypt. According to Bloomberg Asharq, the firm is now in talks with potential partners from Germany, Japan, and Italy to develop production facilities for green ammonia that can then be incorporated into aviation fuels.
Bloomberg Asharq also reported that the Egyptian government is actively seeking private investments for numerous renewable energy and desalination projects. They are to be completed ahead of the COP 27 summit that will be held in the country in November 2022. Various energy news websites reported in November that a consortium comprising Norwegian renewable energy developer Scatec, Abu Dhabi’s fertilizer manufacturer Fertiglobe, the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Egypt, and Egyptian engineering firm Osracom will build the world’s largest green hydrogen project to date in Sharm el-Sheikh (South Sinai Governorate). The consortium aims to have the project completed before the COP27 summit.