​ Inauguration of the wind farm project in the Gulf of Suez

Inauguration of the wind farm project in the Gulf of Suez

May 28, 2024

Wind farm in the Gulf of Suez – Red Sea

Author’s notes

Ambassador Christian Berger,

Head of the EU Delegation in Egypt

Dear Minister Shaker, Excellencies, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Europa Team

I would like to thank the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy for its pioneering role in promoting green energy in Egypt. A sustainable, clean transition will provide everyone not only with abundant, affordable clean energy, but also with energy security.

Today is a day of celebration. With the opening of a wind farm in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt is taking another important step in reducing global warming agreementwith own nationally determined contributions (NDC). Achieving this goal starts with transforming the energy sector.

The new wind farm has a capacity of 252 MW and supplies energy to 370,000 people. In addition, savings of 500,000 tons of CO2 will be achieved. The wind farm makes an important contribution to Egypt’s renewable energy development plan, according to which more than 60% of Egypt’s electricity generation capacity should come from renewable energy sources by 2040. In response to the fact that the project is located on the edge of a major bird migration route, extensive measures have been taken to protect migratory birds.

Team Europe financiers are the European Investment Bank (EIB), Agence Française de Développement (AfD), the European Commission and KfW on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The total cost of the wind farm with associated infrastructure is EUR 257 million. KfW, the main co-financier, provided a loan of EUR 59 million for this project, the EIB is participating in the project with a loan of EUR 94 million, the AfD with a EUR 40 million loan and the European Commission with a grant of EUR 30 million.

Energy is responsible for 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This has to come down. We need to deploy more renewable energy sources and use less energy to produce the products and services we use.

For this reason, at the end of last year the EU presented the concept of global targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency. It seemed like a risky and almost impossible risk. We all believed that we had to try. More than 130 countries have signed up to the Global Commitment to Double Global Energy Efficiency; and tripling renewable energy capacity to at least 11 terawatts.

It’s a message of hope that we can keep the lights on without polluting the air! We need clean energy that is affordable and accessible to all. That’s why we set ourselves the goal of doubling energy efficiency by 2030. And the cheapest source of energy in the world is renewable energy sources. The goal is to triple the share of renewable energy by 2030. For example, solar energy is ten times cheaper today than it was ten years ago.

The EU aims to continue to make the necessary financial support available to countries that need it. Over the next two years, the European Union will invest EUR 2.3 billion to support the energy transition in our neighborhood and around the world to achieve affordable and home-made energy.

The EU is pleased to support Egypt in updating its 2040 energy strategy, which includes bald scenarios for the share of renewable energy in Egypt’s energy mix.

The interplay between the development of renewable energy sources, the development of energy transmission and distribution highlights the complex and multi-faceted nature of the journey towards a clean and sustainable energy future.

Under the NWFE, the EU will provide a grant of EUR 35 million to connect renewable energy produced here in this region, in the Gulf of Suez, to the national grid. These funds will be combined with a loan from the EBRD in the amount of EUR 160 million. We hope to sign this agreement during the upcoming investment conference.

Moreover, digitalization affects the entire energy value chain, from generation to transport, distribution, delivery and consumption. For this reason, the EU has agreed to combine a grant of €10 million with a loan of €50 million from the French Development Agency to improve the digitization of the control center in Alexandria. This project will also be signed during the investment conference. This is in addition to a number of technical assistance programs aimed at supporting reforms, assessing the feasibility of projects, as well as implementing Egypt‘hydrogen strategy.

I offer my sincere congratulations to everyone present here.

First of all, I would like to thank the Ministry of Renewable Energy and the Authority for New and Renewable Energy Sources for Egypt’s ambitious decarbonization plans, which we fully support.

Vestas, European world‘the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines, responsible for a significant portion of the world’s wind power capacity.

Tractebel consultant, one of the best in the world‘largest engineering players in energy, water and infrastructure projects.

And finally, the team that helped make this project happen, in particular KfW, the leading financing institution, together with my team at the EU Delegation, the European Investment Bank, which is providing the largest loan in this project, as well as the French Development Agency.

Many thanks for your attention.