Egypt - Transferring modern wind technology to Africa

Egypt has an excellent wind resource but no manufacturing capacity and poor financing capability, so the help of European governments has been key for setting up the Zafarana wind farm.

Winds blow across this desert site near the coast of the Gulf of Suez at average speeds of more than 9 metres per second, making it a prime location for exploiting freely available natural energy.

Since 2001 a series of linked wind farms have been built at Zafarana with the support of the Danish, German and Spanish governments. Their total installed capacity has now reached 360 Megawatts (MW).

The wind turbines used have come from the production lines of the Danish Vestas, German Nordex and Spanish Gamesa companies. Their installation has been carried out under the banner of the Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Agency (NREA).

The most recent development is a 240 MW phase being constructed with the support of the Danish and Japanese government aid agencies. Half of this is due for commissioning by the end of 2009. Eventually the total capacity at Zafarana will reach 545 MW.

The Zafarana project, which was a major step towards the large-scale deployment of wind power in Egypt, has contributed to technology transfer in terms of providing operational experience in wind power plant operation, as well as local assembly of the turbines.

Based on this experience the Egyptian government is now opening up a larger area of 656 square kilometres at El-Zayt, south of Zafarana. With a potential for 3,000 MW of wind power capacity, this will involve private sector investment for the first time. Wind speeds here can reach an average of 11 metres per second.

The government's target is that 20% of the country's electricity should come from renewable sources by 2020. Of this more than half - about 12% - is expected to be produced by wind power. To achieve this target the NREA estimates that a total of 7,200 MW of grid-connected wind farms will be required.

For more information or comments, please contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net