Shortlist Issued for 250-Megawatt Egyptian Windfarm

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A shortlist of the potential winning bidders of a contract for a 250-megawatt (MW) build-own-operate (BOO) wind power project in Egypt was released by the Egyptian government last week. Among the companies on the shortlist are Korea Electric Power Company (NYSE:KEP) (Seoul, South Korea), Iberdrola Renovables (MCE:IBR) (Madrid, Spain), The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) (Arlington, Virginia) and Egyptian company El Sewedy Cables (CAI:SWDY) (Cairo).

Click on image at right for the full shortlist of the possible contractors for the 250-MW wind project.

The Egyptian government has added many incentives to encourage renewable energy projects, including the reduction of customs tariffs on imported equipment from 5% to 2%. The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company plans to connect all windfarms executed by Egypt's New and Renewable Energy Authority and private investors by 2015. For additional information, see related article from November 5, 2009 - Egypt to Evaluate 32 Bids for 250-Megawatt Windfarm Under Ambitious Energy Plan.

A total capacity of about 2,160 MW will be commissioned at the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of El-Zayt. To transmit this huge amount of power, Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) will implement two 500/200 kV substations with installed capacities of 500 megavolt-amperes each in the locations. The private sector will build, own and operate the wind projects to sell electricity to the EETC under long-term power purchase agreements of 20 to 25 years.

Under the supervision of Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, EETC will begin acting on expansion plans to transmit energy from the wind projects in the Gulf of Suez and Gulf of El-Zayt areas. Plans for this expansion are in place through 2022.

Click on image at right for detailed breakdown of EETC's projected plans for new conventional and renewable power projects through 2022.

In July, EEHC announced that commitments from international financing agencies, including the World Bank's Clean Technology Fund and the European Commission's Neighborhood Investment Facility, have been obtained for financing these transmission expansion projects.

Currently, about 1.3% of Egypt's energy demand comes from the Zafarana windfarm, which has a total installed capacity of about 450 megawatts. Egypt is trying to achieve a total of 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, with about 12% expected to come from wind energy.

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