EBRD to provide a long-term loan of up to $71.7 mn to develop a wind farm in Ras Ghareb

EBRD study Provision of a long-term senior loan of up to USD 71.7 million (EUR 66.2 million) to finance the development and construction of a 200 MW onshore wind farm in Ras Ghareb located in the Gulf of Suez region. The Project will sell the produced power to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) under a long term power purchase agreement backed by a sovereign guarantee from the Ministry of Finance.

The Project will further promote private sector participation in the Egyptian power sector and increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix in line with the nationally declared targets. The Project is expected to improve the environmental characteristics of Egypt's power sector by reducing emissions of local pollutants and CO2, as well as water consumption.

The Project will be among the very first to be delivered under the 10 GW renewable program of the Bank-led Energy Pillar of the Nexus Water-Food-Energy Programme (NWFE) initiative, a major policy engagement developed by the Bank on behalf of the Government of Egypt that was announced at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.

Furthermore, The Project will contribute to the Green quality, by adding a 200 MW of new renewable energy capacity to the national grid, supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy and the decarbonization of the electricity generation sector, which has a high level of reliance on thermal power generation. The Project will contribute to achieving Egypt's target of 42% of power generation coming from renewable energy by 2030.

The Project is expected to achieve sizeable environmental benefits, with expected annual avoided CO2 emissions close to 400k tonnes. The Project will also contribute to the Inclusive quality, through a certified work-based training program for young engineers to promote youth engagement in the energy sector.