Wednesday 14 August 2019

New wind farm in Egypt gets $206m boost

An agreement to provide financing worth $206 million (£171m) in total for the development of a wind farm in Egypt has been confirmed.

The 252MW West Bakr Wind project, being developed by Lekela in Egypt’s Red Sea governorate, is expected to produce enough renewable electricity to power around 350,000 homes and reduce more than 550,000 tons of carbon emissions a year.

The wind farm, located in the Gulf of Suez, is being supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) – members of the World Bank Group – with $84 million (£70m) and $122 million (£101m)  in financial guarantees.

The project is part of the government’s Build, Own, Operate framework and will help towards delivering the nation’s target of generating 20% of electricity from renewable sources by 2022.

Walid Labadi, IFC Country Manager in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen said: “We are committed to supporting the government’s program in Egypt and boosting the production of clean, wind-generated electricity.

“The Lekela wind farm will help lower the average cost of electricity generation in Egypt and boost private sector participation in this key sector, while sending a strong signal to the market about our commitment to the country’s renewable energy programme.”