Lekela starts construction of 250 MW West Bakr wind farm in Ras Ghareb, Egypt

Work has now started on the West Bakr wind project site in Ras Ghareb, Egypt. The 250 MW project is being developed by Lekela, an Independent Power Producer (IPP).

Construction of the West Bakr wind project is currently underway. Work has recently been launched at a ceremony attended by several Egyptian officials, including the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Planning.

The West Bakr wind farm will be located 30 km northeast of Ras Ghareb in the Gulf of Suez. The project is being developed under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) by Lekela, an Independent Power Producer (IPP), a joint venture between UK investment fund Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power. The IPP has awarded the construction of the wind farm to Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.

An expected capacity of 250 MW

The German company Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy will install a total of 96 of its SG 2.6-114 turbines that will generate 250 MW. It will maintain them over a period of 15 years. The installation will increase “Egypt’s wind power capacity as the country strives to reach its goal of producing 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2022. The project will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 550,000 tons per year,” Lekela said.

The West Bakr wind farm will provide enough electricity for 350,000 Egyptian homes. The project will be entirely financed by Lekela through loans from several investors. These include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s corporate finance arm, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the former Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which merged in December 2020 with the Development Credit Authority (DCA).

Lekela will sell electricity from the West Bakr wind farm to the state-owned Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) under a 20-year power purchase agreement, starting from the commissioning of the wind farm at the end of 2021.

Egypt starts wind project construction

The construction work on the 250MW West Bakr Wind farm in Egypt has begun, according to Egypt’s Electricity and Renewable Energy Ministry.

Dutch developer Lekela reached financial close for the scheme in October.

Span-based Siemens Gamesa is the project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

MEED understands the contractor plans to install 96 of their SG 2.6-114 turbines through a turnkey EPC contract and provide maintenance services for 15 years. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

The West Bakr Wind farm is located 30km north of Ras Ghareb and 225km south of Cairo.

The project will be developed under a build, own, operate scheme and will supply clean power to the Egyptian grid through a take-or-pay power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC).

UK-based Mott MacDonald was the lender’s technical adviser on the project to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Egypt has set an ambitious target for 42% of its total energy production to come from renewables by 2035.

(Sources: Power Technology & Afrik 21)