Egypt, Saudi Arabia begin grid interconnection
The Egyptian grid has a total installed capacity of 25,000 megawatts MW and a peak load of 18,000 MW. The country plans to add 10,000 MW by 2017. Saudi Arabia has a power generating capacity of 39,000 MW and plans to add 15 to its total installed capacity by 2020.
On March 29 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, representatives from both countries reviewed the preliminary designs for an electrical connection project between two countries. Plans involve the construction of substations in Badr, Egypt and Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, as well as along the CairoSuez road in eastern Egypt. Discussions also involved different scenarios for financing the project.
Electricity and Energy Minister Dr. Hassan Yunis said the project will enable the two countries to exchange 3,000 MW of electrical power on directcurrent transmission lines, saving investments of $3.7 billion. Yunis said that many studies had been carried out to study the technical issues and feasibility of the project.
Related News

RBC agrees to buy electricity from new southern Alberta solar power farm project
CALGARY - The Royal Bank of Canada says it is the first Canadian bank to sign a long-term renewable energy power purchase agreement, a deal that will support the development of a 39-megawatt, $70-million solar project in southern Alberta.
The bank has agreed with green energy retailer Bullfrog Power to buy the majority of the electricity produced by the project to be designed and built by BluEarth Renewables of Calgary.
The project is to provide enough power for over 6,400 homes and the panel installations will cover 120 hectares, the size of 170 soccer fields.
The solar installation is to be built in…