To what extent will renewable energy projects be affected by current economic crisis?
Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, stated that there are no plans for halting renewable energy production projects in spite of the current economic crisis.
The minister ensured in an interview with a local news website on Tuesday that Egypt has taken all the necessary steps to attract both foreign and local investments for the renewable energy projects, revealing that the state’s strategy for increasing dependency on renewable energy sources to 42 percent by 2035, is currently being modified to 50 percent by 2040, due to new updates and inputs in the renewable energy industry.
Additionally, the minister cited decreasing the price of renewable energy to $2.3 cents for one kilowatt (kW) of solar energy and $2.4 cents for one kilowatt (kW) of wind energy – lowest prices globally – and the exempt released earlier this year for solar energy projects, as great incentives for investors in the sector.
The exemption, which was released in January 2023, excluded solar energy projects producing up to 10 megawatt (MW) annually from paying integration fees.
Moreover, he pointed out that the ministry has contracted with a global consultative to assure that the national electricity grid can handle the massive amount of renewable energy produced in the future.
Furthermore, the minister responded to claims of squandering public money by building unnecessary Siemens power plants, emphasizing that the three power plants currently operating in Beni Suef, Burullus and the New Capital have saved immense amounts of fuel, which was later used for exportation.