Egypt seals $1.1 billion solar and wind deal with AMEA Power
The deal provides for AMEA to build a 560 megawatt (MW) solar plant in southern Egypt and a 505MW wind farm on the Red Sea coast.
The deal provides for AMEA to build a 560 megawatt (MW) solar plant in southern Egypt and a 505MW wind farm on the Red Sea coast.
Egyptian officials have said their priority was to provide a conducive atmosphere for negotiations and act as a neutral mediator. The presidency denied that fossil fuel producers had been given sympathetic treatment.
Historically, nations hosting the annual gathering of up to 35,000 leaders, diplomats, observers, campaigners and journalists are expected to rise above national interests enough to work hand-in-glove with the UN's climate bureaucracy to shepherd the consensus-based process to a more or less happy ending.
"To have any hope of keeping to (an increase of) 1.5°C, we need to massively invest in renewables and end our addiction to fossil fuels," said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres.
The government has brought forward a goal of producing 42 per cent of its power generation from renewables to 2030 from 2035, but missed a target of 20 per cent for this year.
Wael Aboulmagd, Special Representative of the COP27 said on Monday that “the chapter on mitigation will of course address that issue” referring to India’s proposal for inclusion of language on phasing down all fossil fuels.
Leaders from the G20 group of developed nations issued a declaration on Wednesday expressing support for a global goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, phase out coal and speed up climate finance.
The analysis, by the Global Carbon Project, calculates Earth's "carbon budget", which is how much CO₂ humans have released, and how much has been removed from the atmosphere by the oceans and land ecosystems.
The solar panel farm - Egypt's flagship project named Benban, after a local village - puts it at the African continent's forefront when it comes to renewable energy. But questions remain over Egypt's long-term green energy strategy, and whether there are enough incentives for the cash-strapped government to supply 42 per cent of the country's electricity from renewable resources by 2035, as it has announced.
According to the official press release, about $50 million in financial commitments have already been announced for IRAF over an initial duration of five years
The agreements include a $10 billion investment to replace "inefficient thermal power plants" with clean energy like wind or solar, funded by institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the African Development Bank, HSBC and CitiBank.