The West Bakr wind farm will generate 1,000 GWh per year and increase the installed wind capacity in the country by 18%. Siemens Gamesa will install 96 SG 2.6-114 wind turbines and perform the operation and maintenance tasks for 15 years.
70% of the work for the construction of the wind energy project will be carried out by local suppliers.
Siemens Gamesa continues to drive the growth of renewable energy in Egypt with the turnkey construction of the 250 MW West Bakr wind farm.
The company will install 96 wind turbines of the SG 2.6-114 model as part of this project, developed by the promoter Lekela, and will carry out the operation and maintenance tasks for 15 years.
Alfonso Faubel, CEO Onshore of Siemens Gamesa, said: «West Bakr will contribute to achieving the ambitious goals of renewables that the Egyptian government has set for the next few years and will allow us to support the development of the country, both environmentally and economic and social.
The first wind turbines will be supplied in mid-2020 and the park will start operating in 2021. West Bakr, located 30 kilometers northwest of Ras el Ghareb, in the Gulf of Suez, will produce more than 1,000 GWh per year, capable of supplying energy to more than 350,000 homes and save about 550,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
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All civil works and much of the electrical and logistic tasks will be performed by local suppliers; In addition, most wind turbine towers will be produced in Egypt. In total, 70% of the construction of the project will be carried out by local suppliers, which will also help to strengthen the economy of the area.
With the construction of this wind farm, the wind power capacity installed in the country will increase by 18%, to 1,650 MW, and will allow Egypt to take another step towards diversifying its energy mix, with the objective that 20 % of the electricity comes from renewable sources in 2022.
In addition to this project, a Local Investment Plan will be launched, which includes business, educational and environmental initiatives such as a local wildlife protection program. Chris Antonopoulos, CEO of Lekela, said:
“We are delighted to have worked with Siemens Gamesa on our first project in Egypt. It is a pride to play an important role in the energy transition of Egypt, with projects that have a long-term impact and generate benefits for local communities ».
As Africa advances in the implementation of renewable energies, sustainable and economic development is one of SGRE’s priorities in its effort to assist in the diversification of Egypt’s energy mix.
West Bakr Wind will join the 8 projects that, with a capacity of 1,243 MW, SGRE has successfully completed in Egypt. Siemens Gamesa is a market leader in Africa, with more than 20 years of experience and more than 3.1 GW installed in countries such as Egypt, South Africa, Morocco or Tunisia.
The company is driving the energy transition in Africa by providing cleaner, more reliable and affordable energy for millions of Africans. This project represents another step in Siemens Gamesa’s commitment to be one of the main drivers of sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals represent a new approach in which global development must integrate economic growth, social welfare and environmental protection.
For Siemens Gamesa it is key to promote this global process and contribute to achieving these objectives. Download here the press release in pdf Siemens Gamesa is the world leader in the wind sector, with a strong presence in all business segments: offshore, onshore and services.
Through its advanced digital capabilities, the company offers one of the broadest product portfolios in the industry, as well as industry-leading service solutions, with which it contributes to generating more affordable and reliable clean energy.
With more than 95 GW installed worldwide, Siemens Gamesa produces, installs and maintains onshore and offshore wind turbines, with an order book of 25.1 billion euros.
The company is headquartered in Spain and is listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange (Ibex 35 index). About Lekela Lekela is a renewable energy generation company that supplies clean energy to many communities in Africa.
The company, which has decades of experience in the sector, has the capacity to develop the projects from the development phase to its long-term operation. Lekela supplies sustainable, reliable and competitively priced energy to governments, power companies and large-scale industrial projects.
Lekela’s current portfolio includes more than 1,300 megawatts in different projects in Egypt, Ghana, Senegal and South Africa.
60% of Lekela is owned by Actis, a leading energy investor in growing markets, and the remaining 40% belongs to a consortium led by Mainstream Renewable Power, which includes investors such as IFC and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
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