Energy strategy in Egypt .... Between planning and execution written by/Ashraf Fawzy: Al-hram El-masry News

 

 Written by / Ashraf Fawzy

 Egypt succeeded in the aftermath of the 30th of June in developing a strategy within Egypt's vision for sustainable development 2030 aimed at diversifying sources of electrical energy, especially from renewable energy, which many place bets on to be one of the main energy sources, and to make use of natural resources in the production of electricity.

 Within the framework of President El-Sisi's keenness to pay attention to the national and mega projects for the development of Egypt, building modern Egypt and changing the foundations of building energy that have been relied upon for hundreds of years to make the energy sector able to meet the needs of sustainable development and achieve economic growth and leadership in the fields of renewable energy

  Among the priorities of the political leadership is an ambitious strategy, which aims to reach the size of the contribution of new and renewable energies to 42% of the total electricity production in Egypt, including 22% from solar cells, 14% from wind energy, 4% from solar concentrates and 2% from hydropower.

 With the aim of reaching the electric energy generated from new and renewable energies to more than 42% in 2035, at the same time the short-term plan aims to reach 20% by 2022, as the energy mix also includes all types of energy sources (nuclear energy, clean coal, gas).

 The culmination of these efforts is close to realization, especially since investment in the renewable energy sector in Egypt has become a goal for many investors.

 The number of investors who applied to invest in this sector until 3018 was 187 investors, while the volume of investments amounted to more than $ 2 billion during the fiscal year 2018/2019.

 While the total installed capacity of renewable sources has reached about 3.9 gigawatts of hydropower, wind and sun so far.

 The Benban Solar Energy Complex is receiving great interest from the Ministry of Electricity, especially since there are about 30 projects in Benban that accommodate about 1,500 megawatts, with investments amounting to about $ 2.2 billion, and accommodate nearly 10,000 job opportunities.

 Previously, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated a number of renewable energy projects, including the Jabal al-Zayt power plant to generate electricity from winds in the Red Sea Governorate, as well as projects in the Gulf of Suez.

 The electricity sector works to expand the spread of electricity generation from renewable energy sources such as wind or solar energy. Several projects are required in the field of strengthening and modernizing electrical networks to ensure their reliability and stability.

 There is also a hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 2,400 megawatts - which is being implemented in cooperation with an international company in Jabal Ataqa, Suez Governorate - is one of these ideal solutions that will maximize the use of renewable energies, which will be used to fill the station’s tanks during the availability of renewable energy.  And this energy produced from the station is used when it is needed (peak times), and thus it is considered a means of storing renewable energies.

 The availability of many mechanisms for the private sector to participate in the electricity sector, including "EPC + Finance-BOO-IPP", competitive tenders, and others have contributed to achieving confidence among investors in the Egyptian electricity and renewable energy sector, and a large number of them from the foreign and local private sector have entered into  Sector projects, on top of which are new and renewable energy projects.

 Egypt enjoys clear richness in renewable energy sources, which mainly include wind and solar energy, as the electrical capacity that can be produced from these sources reaches 90 gigawatts, while more than 7,600 square kilometers of unused land have been allocated to renewable energy projects.

 During the past period, many measures were taken to encourage the participation of the private sector in renewable energy projects. The most important step was the legislative amendments that should have been taken to remove obstacles to investment in this field. The name of “Ministry of Electricity and Energy” was changed to “Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy” to reflect  The clear commitment of the state towards renewable energy projects.

 While the electric tariff reform program was announced, the tariff restructuring was approved and announced in July 2014, and an amendment was made to the law establishing the New and Renewable Energy Authority to allow it to establish companies alone or in partnership with the private sector to build and operate renewable energy projects.

 In December 2014, a law was issued to stimulate investment in the field of renewable energy, which includes (4) mechanisms to encourage the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources, which are government projects implemented by the New and Renewable Energy Authority with the system (EPC + Finance). Competitive bids are offered through the Egyptian company.  For the transmission of electricity with the (BOO) system, auctions, and (IPP) system, in which the investor sells the energy produced from renewable energies directly to his customers through the use of the national electricity grid in exchange for the fees for using the feed-in tariff for renewable energies, which allows the private sector to invest in the field of establishing, owning and operating stations  Production and sale of electricity produced from solar and wind energy.

 These measures, along with investor confidence in the sector, have contributed to the confidence of international institutions specialized in this regard, towards the steps taken by the Egyptian government to overcome obstacles to the expansion of these projects, according to a report issued by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), entitled "The prospects for renewable energy.  In Egypt, “Egypt can meet more than 50% of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources in 2035.

 The report pointed out that renewable energies can achieve cost savings of $ 900 million annually, indicating that Egypt has the potential to generate up to 53% of the total electricity produced from renewable energy sources by 2035, according to the latest report issued by the agency.  Renewable Energy International.

 The report believes that renewable energy can provide about a quarter of the total final energy supply in Egypt. Nevertheless, achieving greater goals requires investments in renewable energy, to increase its value from $ 2.5 billion annually according to current policies to reach $ 6.5 billion annually.

 During close periods in 2018, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy signed a number of joint memoranda of understanding with a number of countries for bilateral cooperation in the fields of renewable energy.

 President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's visit to China in 2018 achieved a number of achievements regarding the electricity and renewable energy sector, especially after signing a number of framework contracts with the Chinese side amounting to about $ 7 billion.

 The contracts that were signed relate to the construction of two plants, the first of their kind in the Middle East, the first being the establishment of the largest station using clean coal, with capacities of about 6000 megawatts, in the Hamraween site, south of Safaga, on the Red Sea coast, at a cost of $ 4.4 billion and a period of implementation of up to  About 6 years.

 The station uses supercritical pressures technology, and a port will be established to receive coal and transport it in closed belts to a closed storage area, and environmental standards for emissions from coal plants issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Environment will be complied with and conform to international standards.

 As for the second, it is represented in the construction of the first power plant from hydropower stations, using pumping and storage technology, with a capacity of about 2,400 megawatts in Mount Ataqa in Suez, at a cost of about $ 2.6 billion, with an implementation period ranging between 6 and 7 years.

 The implementation of the plant is carried out using triple treated wastewater in order to take advantage of the energy produced from new and renewable sources and store it at times of availability, then use it in times of need (peak hours). The project provides about 15,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.

 This is part of the achievements that cannot be enumerated in a single article, especially the new vision in the field of renewable energy.

 May God protect the President and the people