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Egypt looks to the future with renewable energy plan

May 19, 2017
Egypt looks to the future with renewable energy plan

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The vista in the central province of Minya is as empty as far as the eye can see except for rows and rows of solar panels and the blue sky above. The panels are helping Amr al-Saad’s 8-month-old power sta­tion address the worsening issue of brownouts and blackouts in the area.

“A few years ago, power supply was intermittent, which made the life of the residents of the province very tough. That is why I decided to establish my project where it is most needed,” Ayman Hamza, spokes­man for the Ministry of Electricity.

After generating electricity, Saad’s station feeds it into the na­tional grid where it is used to power houses, farms and workshops in Minya’s villages.

The Egyptian government is investing billions of dollars into new renewable energy projects and looking to establish wind farms and solar power plants in around the country.
The Egyptian government is investing billions of dollars into new renewable energy projects and looking to establish wind farms and solar power plants in around the country.

Saad’s project, which cost $100,000 and produces 650 kilo­watts of electricity each month, is part of a national drive to reduce Egypt’s dependence on fossil fuels by shifting to renewable energy. Egypt plans to produce 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2022 and 37 percent by 2035. It is an ambitious plan given that just 3 percent of electricity produced annually in Egypt today is from renewable sources.

The Egyptian government is investing billions of dollars into new renewable energy projects and looking to establish wind farms and solar power plants in around the country.

Several projects are slated for the Western Desert, on the north­ern coast and near the Suez Canal, where tens of thousands of wind turbines and solar panels dot the once empty desert.

“Utilizing renewable energy is part of a national plan to diversify electricity generation sources to meet growing demand and secure the continuity of the electricity sup­ply. Egypt has a great, untapped po­tential to turn into an international renewable energy hub,” Ayman Hamza.

Egypt’s climate gives it massive wind and solar energy potential. The North African country expe­riences high sunshine duration of from 3,300 hours a year in the north to 4,000 hours in the interi­or. Egypt’s coastal zones have high wind energy potential, particularly along the Red Sea coast, which ex­periences average wind speeds of 7-12 meter per second.

Source: UPI. Read full article here.
19 May, 2017