The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has secured a $275 million syndicated loan to support the construction of Africa's largest wind farm, a 1.1-gigawatt (GW) facility in Egypt's Gulf of Suez region. The project, known as Suez Wind, represents a significant milestone in the country's renewable energy ambitions.
Co-financed by a consortium of development institutions including the African Development Bank (AfDB), British International Investment (BII), Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), the OPEC Fund for International Development, and the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), the wind farm will produce over 4,300 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity annually. This output is equivalent to avoiding more than 2.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
The project supports Egypt's commitment to the Paris Agreement and aligns with its Nexus of Water, Food & Energy (NWFE) programme, a sustainability initiative launched during COP27. As part of this effort, the wind farm contributes to Egypt's goal of generating 10GW of renewable energy and transitioning to a low-carbon energy sector by 2030.
Suez Wind is a joint venture involving ACWA Power and HAU Energy, the latter backed by the EBRD, Hassan Allam Utilities, and Meridiam Africa Investments. The project aims to deliver renewable energy at costs lower than traditional generation methods, bolstering both economic and environmental sustainability in the region.
“Egypt is committed to advancing its renewable energy ambitions, aiming to derive 42% of its energy mix from renewable sources by 2030,” said Rania A. Al-Mashat, Egypt's Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation. “Through our partnership with the EBRD, we are mobilising blended finance to attract private-sector investments in renewable energy.”
Nandita Parshad, Managing Director of the EBRD's Sustainable Infrastructure Group, emphasized the landmark nature of the project: “EBRD is proud to be the largest financier of this 1.1GW wind farm, which marks the largest onshore wind project in our countries of operation to date. Egypt continues to lead in large-scale renewables in Africa, first with the largest solar farm and now the largest wind farm.”
