UAE, Egypt take next step towards building 'Africa's largest wind farm'

The work on "Africa's largest wind farm" has gained momentum after Abu Dhabi Energy Company – Masdar and its partners signed a deal with Egypt's New and Renewable Energy Authority to secure land for the project.

Set to be worth over $10 billion, the farm in Egypt is set to produce 47,790 GWH of clean energy per year and reduce the country's annual carbon emissions by 9 per cent. 

"It is a sign of the strong partnership between the UAE and Egypt, with great potential to create jobs, cut emissions and power homes with clean electricity at competitive economical costs," said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President-Designate.

The project will also help Egypt meet its strategic objective of sourcing 42 per cent of its energy from renewables by 2030. The 10 GW plant will save the country an estimated $5 billion in natural gas costs a year.

The initial agreement on the joint venture between Masdar and its partners Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities was signed in 2022.

The consortium also signed agreements with Egyptian state-backed organisations to develop green hydrogen and derivatives’ production facilities, with a target capacity of 4 GW by 2030, and an output of up to 480,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.