A consortium of Abu Dhabi-headquartered Masdar, Netherlands-based Infinity Power, Africa's largest renewable energy developer, and Egyptian construction company Hassan Allam Utilities signed an agreement with Egypt's New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) to secure land to build a 10-gigawatt (GW) capacity onshore wind farm in Egypt.

The wind farm, set to be one of the largest in the world, has an estimated project value of over $10 billion, according to a press statement issued by Masdar.

The land purchase pact is a crucial milestone after signing an MoU for the project with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company in November 2022 on the sidelines of the UN climate change conference, COP27, in Sharm El Sheikh. 

The Masdar statement said the wind project would help Egypt:

  • Produce 47,790 GWh of clean energy annually and reduce around nine per cent of the country's annual carbon emissions by displacing 23.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.  
  • Help meet its strategic objective of sourcing 42 per cent of its energy from renewables by 2030. 
  • Save an estimated $ 5 billion in natural gas costs annually

The statement didn't disclose the details of location or the total area to be acquired for the project.  

In March, Masdar became Africa's largest operator of renewables after its joint venture with Egypt's Infinity - Infinity Power - acquired Lekela Power, a renewables developer with operations across the continent.  Masdar signed deals to develop renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of up to 5 GW in Angola, Uganda, and Zambia, in January 2023.

During COP27, the alliance signed agreements with Egyptian state-backed organisations to develop green hydrogen and derivatives production facilities. The consortium is targeting a capacity of 4 GW by 2030 and an output of up to 480,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.

Read more: Egypt’s 500 MW Gulf of Suez 2 wind farm project achieves financial close

Saudi's ACWA Power to develop 1.1GW wind farm in Egypt

Saudi ACWA Power seals deal for 10GW wind project in Egypt

(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by SA Kader)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)