Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s renewables energy sector presents a potential opportunity of more than $10 billion for private sector financing over the next five years, experts said Tuesday.
As Egypt’s installed power capacity is set to nearly double from 31 gigawatts in 2013 to 60 gigawatts in 2020, renewables will play a key role and present an opportunity of $13 billion in investment and development, according to Frost & Sullivan.
In particular, Egypt plans to reach 20 percent of its total power for a total of 11.32 gigawatts from renewables by 2020, across wind, photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, and hydroelectric projects, according to a report by the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.
“There are more than 4,000 megawatts in renewable energy projects currently under development in Egypt, split between wind, and solar, procured under a newly established Feed-in-Tariff regime and competitive tenders. There will be strong medium to short-term growth, but to date it has been a slow process due to some volatility and clarification regarding the government regulatory frameworks,” said Bakr Abdel-Wahab, Managing Director of Infrastructure Private Equity at EFG Hermes, one of the Arab World’s largest banks.
Accordingly, the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2016, hosted by Masdar and part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, has added to its already extensive programming to allow for a country-specific focus: Egypt Energy Forum.
The event will be a platform to learn about the latest developments in the power, water, gas, solar, wind, and waste management sectors of the Arab world’s largest economy, while enabling attendees to hear how the country’s leaders articulate the ten-year vision for the nation.
“There are many regional conferences on renewables, but the World Future Energy Summit has the reputation for bringing in high-level developers and investors, providing a forum to give feedback to governments,” added Bakr Abdel-Wahab, who will be presenting at the Egypt Energy Forum and World Future Energy Summit.
