Egypt in talks with Saudi firms on renewables: Egypt’s Electricity Ministry is in talks with six Saudi firms over more than USD 3 bn worth of renewable energy projects as Egyptian Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker visits Riyadh, Bloomberg Asharq reports, citing unnamed sources at Egypt’s state-owned electricity companies.

Who is Egypt meeting with? Al Fanar, FAS Energy, and Acwa Power are among the companies Shaker is currently in Riyadh holding meetings with, the sources reportedly said. Egypt signed an agreement with Acwa Power on a 10 GW wind farm earlier this week. Shaker is also reportedly meeting with Saudi financing institutions to help drum up investment for the projects.

The timeline: Agreements for wind and solar projects could be signed during Shaker’s visit, one source told Bloomberg Asharq, while the two green hydrogen projects could be signed during COP27. The country’s cabinet had already signaled to expect one green hydrogen agreement to be signed with Acwa Power during Shaker’s visit, among other renewables projects.

Some of these companies are already investing in Egypt: Besides its new wind farm project, Acwa Power and Egypt’s Hassan Allam Holding signed an agreement in June to develop a 1.1 GW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez. Al Fanar also inked an MoU to build a green hydrogen and ammonia facility and another to explore wind energy projects earlier this year, while FAS Energy already has a 50 MW solar power plant at the Benban complex. FAS Energy CEO Sabri Asfour told EnterpriseAM earlier this year that the company is planning to construct another 500 MW solar plant and plans to invest in Egypt’s green hydrogen sector.

IN CONTEXT- Egypt is aiming to produce 42% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, a target announced during last year’s COP26 summit. This is five years earlier than the country’s previous target.