Gov’t greenlights 252 MW wind power expansion at Gabal El Zeit

A plan to increase Gabal El Zeit’s production capacity by 43.5% is in the works: The New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) has received government approval to build a 252 MW wind power extension of the Gabal El Zeit wind farm, a government source told EnterpriseAM. The energy produced from the project will be fed into the national grid, our source added.

Remember: The 580 MW — at least for now — Gabal El Zeit wind farm has long been on the government’s privatization short list, with unconfirmed reports in October saying that ongoing negotiations between the Madbouly government and UK-based private equity giant Actis to purchase the wind farm could wrap up by the end of 2024. The negotiations reportedly revolved around the state’s desire to increase the value of the acquisition — which the IMF projected in March to be around USD 339 mn.

News of big ticket renewables investments are set to become more commonplace, with the government’s plan to source 42% of its energy from renewables by 2030 requiring big investments in the sector. To this aim, there’s a plan to launch renewable projects with a combined capacity of 10 GW and combined investments of USD 10 bn from 2023-2028 under the government’s Nexus for Food, Water, and Energy initiative (NWFE), Planning and International Development Minister Rania Al Mashat said last month