Egypt to add 1,000 MW to wind grid

CAIRO, EGYPT - Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company EETC has issued a request for prequalification, inviting independent power producers and developers to submit qualifications to build, own and operate a 250-megawatt MW wind power plant on a predetermined site on the shores of the Gulf of Suez, in the second quarter of 2009.

The evaluation of the qualifications has been finalized, and a shortlist of 10 consortiums was announced in October 2009. It is intended to have the wind power project operational by December 2013.

Several wind projects with a total capacity of 1,040 MW are under development, according to Dr. Hassan Younis, the minister of Electricity and Energy. Younis said that between a half-million and a million acres of state-owned land, on the east and west of the Nile, have obtained approvals from concerned authorities to be allocated, free of charge, for the implementation of wind power plants through the New and Renewable Energy Authority NREA or through a bid, in accordance with Egypt's ambitious strategy to support, develop and exploit renewable energies. He pointed to the country's efforts in providing necessary sites to achieve 20 of renewable energy contribution to the total electricity generated by 2020 as planned.

Meanwhile, NREA is responsible for disseminating the use of new and renewable energy resources in Egypt, in cooperation with the leading countries in wind energy, to become one of the leaders in renewable energy in the region. This is a heavy burden on EETC, as it is the company responsible for national grid stability and equilibrium between generation and distribution sectors.

EETC is working with NREA and international entities to design and extend transmission lines for new and planned renewable energy projects, based on the following:

• Generation planning, considering the contribution of the renewable energy

• Network planning to ensure the capability of power transfer from the renewable projects

• Energy generated from wind farms, to be purchased at reasonable prices to encourage the use of renewable energy.