President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi of Egypt witnessed the signing of an agreement between Masdar, one of the world’s fastest-growing renewable energy companies, along with its Infinity Power joint venture with Infinity, Egypt’s main renewable energy developer, and Hassan Allam Utilities, to develop a 10-gigawatt (GW) onshore wind project in Egypt – one of the largest wind farms in the world.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Dr Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, and Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE Special Envoy for Climate, and Chairman of Masdar, on the sidelines of the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2022.
Dr Al Jaber said “Under the guidance of our leadership, the UAE has been at the forefront of positive climate action in the region – and globally, as reflected in the recent US-UAE Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE). The UAE and Masdar will continue to support Egypt’s net-zero goals, and we will endeavor to take forward the gains made here at COP27, as the UAE prepares to host COP28 next year.”
The 10 GW wind farm will create 47,790 GWh of clean energy annually when finished and offset 23.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions which are equal to about 9% of CO2 emissions from Egypt.
The project will be a component of Egypt’s Green Corridor initiative, a grid specifically designed for renewable energy projects, and it will help Egypt reach its target of having 42% renewable energy in its energy mix by 2035.
Additionally, Egypt will save $5 billion annually on natural gas expenses thanks to the wind farm, which might lead to the creation of employment of up to 100,000. Around 30,000 people are expected to be engaged directly during the building phase, while up to 70,000 people may be employed indirectly. Approximately 3,200 jobs will be added for operation and maintenance after construction.
