EBRD, IFC, OPIC extend $ 252 m loan to Egypt’s wind farm

13 / 08 / 2019

By Marwa Nassar - -

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), extended a 252 million-loan to establish a new wind farm in Egypt, due to be one of the biggest wind farms in Africa.

The 250MW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez will be the second privately-owned wind farm in Egypt.

It will be constructed and operated by Lekela Egypt Wind Power BOO. It is owned by Lekela Power BV, an independent power producer established by Actis Energy Fund III and Mainstrean Renewable Power and focused on onshore wind power generation projects in Africa.

The plant will provide clean energy at an unsubsidized tariff that is below the cost of conventional power and it will avoid 550,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year. The plant benefits from the world class wind resources of the Gulf of Suez and is the next phase in Egypt’s renewable transition, leveraging private finance and expertise to build new, highly competitive, clean generating capacity.

The project builds on the success of Egypt’s 1.5GW Benban solar complex, now nearing completion, which is also privately financed and for which EBRD is the largest financier.

Reforming the energy sector is at the center of Egypt’s economic transition. The country has enormous potential in renewable energy, particularly wind and solar. In recent years the EBRD has engaged closely with the authorities to create a regulatory and tariff environment which makes investments in renewables attractive and commercially successful.

Egypt is a founding member of EBRD. Since the start of its operations in Egypt in 2012, the bank has invested close to €5 billion in 93 projects in the country. 2018 was a record year for the bank in Egypt, when it was the largest EBRD country of operations in terms of new commitments.