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Published on September 25th, 2014 | by Mridul Chadha

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Egypt Plans 2GW Auction Each For Wind & Solar Power Capacity

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September 25th, 2014 by  

Egypt will soon kickstart its renewable energy auctions as it plans to achieve the target of getting 20% energy from renewable energy sources by 2020.

Taffline-Laylin-Green-Prophet-Kuraymat-5

Kuraymat Solar Power Plant in Egypt

Egypt is planning to auction 2 GW capacity each in wind and solar power capacity next month. The government is expecting an investment of about $7 million in the development of this capacity. In addition to renewable energy auctions, the government also plans to offer 4 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity for bidding.

These auctions are part of long-term program which would see the Egyptian government auction a total of 30GW of power generation capacity based on renewable energy and coal. The government expects that solar power projects auctioned next month would be commissioned by June 2015, while the wind energy projects would be commissioned by the end of 2015.

The government also plans to set up manufacturing units to supply equipment for renewable energy projects to allow domestic manufacturers compete with overseas suppliers.

Egypt’s New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) has set a target to generate 20% of the country’s power demand from renewable energy sources by 2020; this includes 12% from wind power and 8% from other technologies like solar power and hydro power. The expected capacity addition is skewed towards wind energy, as solar power is still costly in Egypt while hydro power potential has been largely utilized.

Egypt is among the largest generators of wind energy in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, and plans to further develop its wind energy infrastructure in an aggressive fashion. The government plans to add 7,200 MW wind energy capacity by 2020, including 2,500 MW from private companies.

The government is expected to finance the capacity addition through international assistance. The country will make use of $5.2 billion funds from the World Bank, the African Development Bank and other development agencies. Egypt is also collaborating with Germany and Italy for development of solar thermal power and solar photovoltaic power projects respectively.

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About the Author

currently works as Head-News & Data at Climate Connect Limited, a market research and analytics firm in the renewable energy and carbon markets domain. He earned his Master’s in Technology degree from The Energy & Resources Institute in Renewable Energy Engineering and Management. He also has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering. Mridul has a keen interest in renewable energy sector in India and emerging carbon markets like China and Australia.


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  • momo

    Really shows you just how lousy these developing countries are, just 2 GW… Germany has installed 36 GW of solar, a whole lot more and that only covers 7% of electricity.

    • Bob_Wallace

      They’ve got to dip a toe into the water and test the temperature.

      The nice thing about wind and solar is that they come on line very quickly. That means that within a couple of years these developing countries will have first hand experience with renewables, will understand better how to incorporate them on line, and will be able to see the economics.

      Once they get a taste there will be no turning back. (Unless, like in Australia, the fossil fuel industry seizes control of the government.)

    • I9

      I don’t think it is about being lousy, as you can see they are auctioning it, meaning they don’t have that kind of money to set up anything big. I am very proud of the progress Sisi and Egypt are making and hope the country will continue to progress this way.

  • JamesWimberley

    Egypt has announced FITs for solar at all scales (link). According to the report, they increase with size, which may be a misreading.

  • No way

    Massive flat land, perfect solar and cheap labor. Yet building new coal plants and importing coal is cheaper.

    • Matt

      Well it is for sure easier, because it has been done before and the PTB like doing the same again since they make money on it.

      • Ahmed Abou Eich

        There is No coal plants in Egypt, They are Mostly fueled by natural gas..

  • Offgridman

    Great news on the renewable angle, not so much so on the coal generating plants.
    Does Egypt have its own sources of coal? Or will these be fueled by tearing the tops off from some more of the mountains in the US, or more of the giant pits in Australia?
    In either case let’s hope that the cost of that coal helps to compensate for the environmental damage from where it is mined and not put off for a future reckoning as seems to be the current situation.

    • Jan Veselý

      The difference is that wind and solar projects will be finished next year, coal plants won’t be ready for service before 2020. In that time they will be able just to offset older power plants. Which means 30% efficiency => 45% efficiency, that means 40% coal saved.

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