Masdar-led consortium secures land for mega wind farm in Egypt: UAE’s Masdar, Infinity Power, and Hassan Allam Utilities signed a land allocation agreement with the Egyptian government for the consortium’s planned 10 GW wind farm, according to a press conference aired on Egyptian state television yesterday (watch, runtime 37:05). The agreement comes eight months after the companies signed an MoU on the sidelines of COP27. Details on when the project is expected to come online were not provided, but the wind farm is expected to cost c. USD 10 bn.

What we know: The project will produce 47.7k GWh of clean energy annually, which will save the country some USD 5 bn per year by minimizing the need for natgas consumption, Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi told the press (watch from 7:59). The onshore wind project is set to be one of the largest wind farms globally and the largest in Africa and offset nearly 24 mn tons of CO2 equivalent annually, according to a press release (pdf).

More details: The project, which will be located in Egypt’s Sohag governorate, will offset as much as 10% of Egypt’s total carbon footprint, according to Al Ramahi. The developers will in the “coming period” carry out feasibility, investor onboarding and environmental studies to bring the project online, Al Ramahi said. The developers expect the project will reach financial close in no less than a year, he added (watch, runtime, 17:29). It is expected to help Egypt meet its targets of sourcing 42% of its energy from renewables by 2030, according to the statement.

Export potential? The Egyptian government did not clearly state if the energy generated from the consortium’s wind plant would be exported to foreign markets, but noted it is is looking to export energy in general to Libya, Sudan, and to the GCC through its planned interconnector with Saudi Arabia, and to Europe via its 3 GW Greece-Egypt Interconnector (GREGY) during the presser (watch, runtime, 20:08). Infinity Power — part of the developers on the 10 GW wind farm — signed an MoU last month with Greece-based Copelouzos Group to explore the feasibility of jointly developing renewable energy projects to supply the 3 GW interconnector.

Big FDI potential for Egypt: The consortium is expected to bring in an estimated USD 20 bn in direct investments into the country — USD 10 bn through the 10 GW wind plant, and USD 4 bn for their green hydrogen plant, which is planned to have a 480k ton yearly generational capacity, and a final USD 6 bn to bring online the 7 GW of clean energy that will power their green hydrogen facility, Al Ramahi said (watch, runtime, 30:37).