Red Sea Wind Energy Consortium, majority owned by French multinational utility group Engie with a 35% stake, has reached a financial close for a new 500 MW Gulf of Suez wind farm in Egypt.
Along with French firm Engie, Orascom Construction, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation hold 25%, 20%, and 20% stakes respectively. The consortium will operate and maintain the wind farm under a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company. The project will be connected to the grid over two phases with full commercial operation expected in Q3 2025.
Building on past achievement
The project builds on the consortium’s past success in developing Egypt’s first renewable energy Independent Power Producer (IPP) project of its kind and size, completed in October 2019 ahead of schedule. It triples the developer consortium’s wind energy capacity in Egypt to 762.5 MW.
The Nexus of the Water-Food-Energy Program
The project falls under the energy pillar of the Nexus of Water-Food-Energy (NWFE) program, which aims to contribute to Egypt’s energy transition. The wind farm is capable of delivering clean power to over 800,000 Egyptian homes, accelerating Egypt’s transition to renewable power generation, and reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 1 million tons annually.
Co-financing by international organizations
Non-recourse project financing is provided by the Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the Norinchukin Bank, Société Générale S.A., and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). HSBC Bank Egypt S.A.E. is acting as a working capital bank and Onshore Security Agent. This marks the first co-financing between JBIC and EBRD since the signing of an MOU in October 2022, and the first joint project between NEXI and the EBRD since the signing of an MOU in October 2020.
MENA energy investments are expected to reach USD 879 billion by 2026, according to a report by the Arab Investment Corporation.