We have a smattering of renewables stories from the region, including a new 45 GWh solar plant for a cement plant in Egypt’s Suez, the expansion of solar capacity at the UAE’s Al Maktoum Solar Park, and the kick-off of a wind farm project in Egypt’s Ras Ghareb.

OC-led consortium kicks off work on 500 MW wind farm in Egypt: A consortium of EGX- and Nasdaq Dubai-listed Orascom Construction, Japan’s Toyota Tsusho, and France’s Engie broke ground yesterday on a 500 MW wind farm in Egypt’s Ras Ghareb, according to a statement from the country’s cabinet. The consortium will develop, construct, and operate the wind farm under a 20-year contract. Implementation is expected to take 30 months, Orascom Construction said in a statement (pdf) last October.

SUEZ CEMENT INKS SOLAR PACT

Suez Cement Group of Companies (SCGC) and Intro Power and Utilities signed an EGP 350 mn (USD 14.48 mn) power purchase agreement (PPA) for a new solar plant, SCGC announced yesterday. The solar facility will supply the HeidelbergCement subsidiary’s Suez plant with nearly 45 GWh of solar energy, accounting for 20% of the plant’s power supply and offsetting approximately 22k tons of CO2 emissions annually.

The details: Construction of the new solar plant will begin next year and is expected to come online in 1H 2023. It will be connected to the Egyptian national grid by 2H 2023 and is expected to supply renewable energy for the Suez plant through to 2043. The plant will be developed, managed, operated and maintained by Intro Group.

Reducing emissions: “This step toward using more affordable and cleaner energy will help us significantly reduce power costs and bring us closer to our 2030 target of reducing net CO2 emissions to 400kg/t corresponding to a reduction of 47% compared with the base year 1990,” SCGC Managing Director Mohamed Hegazy said in the statement.

In context: Cement generates the most carbon emissions per USD of revenue globally with 6.9 kg of CO2 released — 5x more than steel — according to findings (pdf) by the World Cement Association during its annual conference. MENA cement producers account for nearly 7% of the global cement output.

DEWA ADDS 300 MW OF PV CAPACITY

ALSO- UAE’s Dubai Water and Electricity Authority added 300 MW of photovoltaic solar energy to Al Maktoum Solar Park’s phase 5 in 2022, the Government of Dubai announced yesterday. The latest addition upgrades phase 5’s production capacity to 600 MW — two thirds of the 900 MW planned to come online by 2023. The Solar Park will have a production capacity of 5 GW by 2030.