The Arab Republic of Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab region and home to one of the fastest-growing populations globally. The rapidly growing figure of residents has led to a steady increase in energy demand. The 2035 Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy, which builds on previous strategies, emphasizes the importance of renewable energy. Egypt is working on increasing the supply of electricity generated from renewable sources to 20% by 2022 and 42% by 2035, with wind providing 14 percent, hydropower 1.98 percent, photovoltaic (PV) 21.3 percent, wind 14 percent, concentrating solar power (CSP) 5.52 percent, and conventional energy sources 57.33 percent by 2035. The government of Egypt invested around EGP 24 billion (around USD 1.5 billion) in the distribution grid between 2017 and 2020. It currently needs around EGP 19.5 billion (USD 1.2 billion) to upgrade its distribution networks. The government is also working on modernizing 47 distribution control centers around the country. There are 19 centers under construction. In the waste to energy (W2E) subsector, Egypt uses 4.2 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) for W2E. This amount will be able to generate around 300 MW over the coming 5 years. There is a huge focus from the government on water desalination projects, and as it requires electric power, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy is working closely with the Ministry of Housing and the aim is to have 2.8 million cubic feet of water per day in 2025. Egypt enjoys excellent wind along the Gulf of Suez with an average wind speed of 10.5 m/sec. It is just one of 38 countries in the world with a published National Wind Atlas. Egypt’s wind-generated power capacity was 7 GW by 2022, making it an important contributor to the renewable energy mix. The Egyptian government recently allocated around 7,845 square kilometers in the Gulf of Suez region and the Nile Banks for NREA to implement additional wind energy projects. Egypt is considered a “sun belt” country with 2,000 to 3,000 kWh/m2/year of direct solar radiation. The sun shines 9-11 hours a day from north to south, with few cloudy days. The East and West Nile areas have the potential to produce around 31,150 MW of wind power and 52,300 MW of solar energy.
