After the success of FiT for solar, is the gov’t abandoning FiT for wind?
After the success of FiT for solar, is the gov’t abandoning FiT for wind? It appears that the government’s feed-in-tariff (FiT) program for wind power has not picked up in the same way as that of solar, allegedly leading the Electricity Ministry to consider scrapping the wind program entirely. Minister Mohamed Shaker is expected to present a proposal to have some of these wind projects taken out of the FiT program and have them tendered under a Build-Own-Operate framework, said ministry sources. While the Benban solar park has drawn in around USD 2 bn in funding from international finance institutions, lenders have shied away from funding FiT wind farm projects, leaving companies bidding on the program in the lurch. The companies, which have already begun spending money on the projects, are undeterred and wish to continue. Six of the nine companies that had bid on wind farms under the program reportedly support Shaker’s plan.