Egypt allocates land for the development of a 3 GW wind project in Sohag

The Egyptian Government has allocated 852 km² of land in the governorate of Sohag (southern Egypt) for the development of a wind park with a total capacity of 3 GW. The agreement was signed by Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and an alliance of companies including Orascom Construction, France’s ENGIE, and Japan’s Toyota Tsusho. Once operational, the onshore wind project is expected to generate enough power to supply about two million Egyptian households and offset emissions by 6.5 MtCO₂/year.

In July 2023, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) for land allocation, in Sohag also, for the development of a 10 GW wind project in the country. Egypt will allocate the company an area of about 3,000 km²  for the development of the project. Earlier the same month, the NREA and the Norwegian energy company Scatec also reached an agreement for the allocation of land in the Sohag Governorate to develop a 5 GW wind power project.  in June 2023, the Emirati company Masdar signed an agreement with the NREA as well, to secure land to build a 10 GW wind complex, once again in Egypt’s Sohag Governorate.

At the end of 2021, wind represented 2.7% of Egypt’s installed capacity with 1.6 GW and 2.7% of its power generation with 5.5 TWh. Egypt targets 42% of electricity production from renewables in 2035, with 25% from solar, 14% from wind, and 2% from hydropower.