Egypt assigns land plot for Acwa’s 10 GW mega wind project: Saudi renewable energy firm Acwa Power yesterday signed a land allocation agreement with Egypt’s Electricity Ministry for its planned 10 GW wind farm, Acwa and the Egyptian cabinet said in separate statements. The Saudi developer will receive a 3k sq-km plot of land in Sohag in Upper Egypt. Acwa inked an initial MoU for the project with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) on the sidelines of the COP27 summit in November.

The project in numbers: The wind farm will be one of the largest in the world when it’s operational, coming second only to China’s planned 20 GW Gansu project. The Acwa project will eliminate some 25.5 mn tons of emissions a year and provide electricity to some 11 mn households, creating 120k jobs, according to the statement. The estimated cost of the project was not disclosed.

Nothing is set in stone: ACWA will conduct feasibility studies for the project ahead of signing the final contracts.

Acwa already has a significant presence in Egypt’s renewable sector, including through its 200 MW Kom Ombo solar power plant, which last April got USD 114 mn in backing from a consortium of international lenders led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The company has minority stakes in three plants in Benban and an upcoming project with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company to convert an electricity plant in Luxor to renewable energy, and has reportedly expressed interest in Egypt’s investment in desalination infrastructure.

Egypt has set itself an ambitious renewable energy target: Egypt is aiming to produce 42% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and 60% by 2040.

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IN OTHER ACWA NEWS- Acwa Power inks agreement with Japan’s Toray Industries to enhance energy efficiency of desalination plants: Saudi Arabian renewables developer Acwa Power and Japanese technologies provider Toray Industries will cooperate on increasing energy efficiency across Acwa Power’s desalination facilities, according to a statement. Under the scope of the agreement, Toray will conduct analysis on Acwa Power’s reverse osmosis desalination membranes to determine how to push down energy consumption. Acwa will provide Toray with the operational details of its plants to help the Japanese firm prepare commercially viable solutions to enhance energy efficiency.