A renewable energy market briefing released today by Apricum The Cleantech Advisory outlines Egypts ambitious push to install solar and wind power against a backdrop of dire economic and energy-related challenges. The cornerstone of Egypts renewable energy program is a feed-in tariff (FIT) structure, announced in September 2014, under which 4.3 GW of solar and wind power will be procured by 2017.
The papers author, Martin Mitscher, project manager at Apricum, explains the ambitions behind the FIT and the cru-cial next steps for the government in order to harness the enthusiasm of the market as well as the countrys impressive solar and wind resources.
After the FIT announcement, we saw a rush from local and international solar developers to get their foot in the door. A stunning 178 project proposals were submitted for more than double the announced capacity of 2 GW said Mitscher. With 69 projects achieving qualification, the key step now for the government is to provide a bankable framework to potential debt providers so that developers can reach financial close.
Wind project developers also responded positively, however the 2.0 GW target was not completely met. A second pro-curement round to fill the remaining capacity is likely to be held sometime before July this year. In addition, a combined capacity of 720 MW of projects is currently under construction from the private sector thanks to the established merchant IPP scheme.
The FIT program has succeeded in attracting many well-known international industry heavyweights as well as local players keen to take a share in this growing market.
Mitscher believes Egypt can become a sizable renewable energy market in the short term, exhibiting the necessary key drivers of rapidly growing power demand, exceptional availability of solar and wind resources, and the need to reduce domestic fossil fuel consumption. Egypt is definitely on the hot list of global renewable power developers at the moment. With well-managed implementation, Egypt could become one of the leading renewable energy markets in the MENA region in a short space of time said Mitscher.
Mitscher estimates Egypts solar PV market and wind market to each grow to around 23 GW cumulatively by 2020.
