Egypt - Wind power project awarded to GL Garrad Hassan

EETC has signed a Contract with GL Garrad Hassan to provide technical assistance for the 250 MW Gulf of Suez BOO Wind Energy Project. GL Garrad Hassan will install on-site met masts to conduct wind speed measurements.

The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), as an agent of the nine participants in the "Joint Wind Measurement Program", has signed a Contract with GL Garrad Hassan to provide technical assistance for the 250 MW Gulf of Suez BOO Wind farm project. GL Garrad Hassan will install on-site met masts to conduct wind speed measurements and provide an energy assessment for the wind turbinesproject.

The project is part of the Egyptian plan to generate 20 percent of the country's electricity from renewables by 2020. The nine participants bidding to build, own and operate the Gulf of Suez Wind Power Project have chosen GL Garrad Hassan to conduct a wind measurement campaign. The measurement project will start in September this year. The monitoring period is expected to run for a minimum of twelve months with wind speed analysis and energy assessment work to follow to support the individual bids of the shortlisted developers.

The Gulf of Suez Wind Power Project is the first private sector turnkey Build, Own and Operate (BOO) wind project for Egypt. Andy Black, Project Development Services Manager at GL Garrad Hassan said "We are proud to support the Egyptian Government in meeting its ambitious targets. This is a unique and landmark arrangement and a very positive start for EETC in this first phase of its renewable energy commercialisation programme."

Egypt has significant potential for wind power, especially in the areas of the Gulf of Suez and it is intended that the current 550 MW of wind energy capacity be increased to 7,200 MW by 2020. The Gulf of Suez Wind Power Project will contribute to the renewable energy strategy of Egypt, which prioritises large scale renewable electricity generation in order to realise fossil fuel savings, protection of the environment, the creation of green jobs and technology transfer.

The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), headquartered in Cairo, owns, manages and operates the high voltage and extra high voltage electric power transmission grids throughout Egypt.

GL Garrad Hassan provides its GH SCADA solution for monitoring and control of over 5 GW of installed wind power capacity representing over 3,500 wind turbines world wide.

GH SCADA is used for many wind turbines including Vestas, Gamesa, GE, Siemens, Mitsubishi, STX, Enercon, Nordex, CPC, XEMC, Nordic, and Repower. With GL Garrad Hassan's global presence turnkey installations or support for license only deployments anywhere in the world can be offered.

GL Garrad Hassan is one of the world's largest renewable energy consultancies and a technical authority on the subject. It offers independent technical and engineering services, products, and training courses to the onshore and offshore wind, wave, tidal and solar sectors. Although the GL Garrad Hassan name is new, the company has a rich heritage. It is borne of the integration of specialist companies that, united, form the renewable energy consulting division of the GL Group. GL Garrad Hassan is a consulting company; it has no equity stake in any device or project. This rule of operation is central to its philosophy, something which sets it apart from many of its competitors.

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