Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and Danish wind turbine manufacturer, Vestas, are due to sign a contract for the implementation of a 250 MW wind power plant on Tuesday.
Informed sources have told Daily News Egypt that the project’s terms have been agreed upon and reviewed by Egypt’s State Council.
The sources added that the current circumstances owing to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have delayed the contract’s signing. The delay has posed no problems, with the funding agencies and implementing company involved well aware of the potential delays due to the current global health crisis.
The wind farm’s implementation is scheduled to take place within two years, the sources added.
The NREA reviewed and approved the only offer submitted by Vestas for the wind farm tender. This follows Siemens Gamesa having previously refused to extend the validity of its own submitted offer, which resulted in its exclusion. German wind turbine manufacturer, Senvion, had also submitted an offer but withdrew it owing to technical reasons.
Unlike Vestas, the sources added that Siemens did not extend the validity of its bid for the tender, and as a result it was excluded from further consideration. This does not pose an obstacle to providing a financial offer and awarding the tender to the company committed to all procedures before the end of this year.
The German Development Bank (KfW) is to arrange a €260m loan to the project, which will be constructed to a 250 MW capacity. The German loan will finance the project, and has been granted with the participation of a number of European parties.
The ongoing construction of renewable energy sources in Egypt come as part of the government’s electricity and renewable energy sector plan. It aims to bring the share of Egypt’s renewable energies to 20% of the national energy output by 2022, and to over 42% by 2035. This will contribute to increasing the output of Egypt’s renewable resources to 6 GW, including hydropower and other projects currently underway.
