We have two stories this morning from Egypt’s renewable energy sector after the Orascom-Engie-Toyota Tsusho consortium broke ground on its 500-MW wind farm in Ras Ghareb, while Suez Cement announced an agreement to install a solar facility at its Suez plant.

CONSTRUCTION ON RAS GHAREB WIND FARM UNDER WAY-

Orascom Construction, Toyota Tsusho, and Engie broke ground yesterday on their new 500 MW wind farm in Ras Ghareb, OC said in a statement (pdf). The three companies signed (pdf) a 20-year contract with the Electricity Ministry to develop, construct and operate the plant in October 2021. OC owns a 25% stake in the project and is responsible for building the plant. Implementation is expected to take 30 months.

Clean energy for hundreds of thousands of homes: Once operational, the farm will deliver clean energy to more than 800k homes and help slash CO2 emissions by 1 mn tons annually, the statement added.

How much will this cost? USD 680 mn, according to the Electricity Ministry, which said yesterday that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the Green Climate Fund, and a group of commercial banks had provided finance.

SUEZ CEMENT IS GOING SOLAR-

Intro Group subsidiary Intro Power and Utilities will build a 20-MW solar farm at Suez Cement’s Suez plant under a purchase power agreement (PPA) signed yesterday by the two firms, Suez Cement said in a statement.

By the numbers: The EGP 350 mn facility will provide c.45 GWh of clean electricity to the plant, supplying 20% of the plant’s total energy needs and offsetting some 20k tons of CO2 emissions annually. The plant is scheduled to become operational in 1H 2023, with construction set to begin early next year. The station will be connected to the national grid in 2H 2023 and will supply power to the plant until 2043.

The plant will help Suez Cement reach its goal of nearly halving net CO2 emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2030, Suez Cement Managing Director Mohamed Hegazy said. “Through transitioning to renewable solar energy, we are looking at long-term economic benefits, laying the foundation for a low-carbon business and energy security without jeopardizing the health of our environment,” he added.

ALSO- Solariz Egypt has launched the second phase of its EGP 97 mn solar power plant in El Gouna, generating 7 MWh — some 16% of the city’s needs, according to Al Borsa.