EGYPT – The Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has won the contract to build a 252 MW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez in Egypt, a location where many wind projects in Egypt are currently concentrated.

Just close to where the new wind farm will be located is the 580MW Gulf of Zeit wind energy complex which is the biggest wind complex in MENA region.

The Gulf of Suiz is attractive to wind farm investors as it is reported to experience the most optimum conditions for wind farms such as wind speed, wind stability and ground terrain.

This vantage position according to wind specialists prompts to 51.7% annual average capacity factor, a figure viewed as a world record because a majority of wind farms worldwide can accomplish a capacity factor of just 30% to 40%.

According to report by AFrik21, Vestas will also be required to ensure the maintenance of the installation comprised of 70 V105-3.45 MW turbines of 3.6 MW each for at least 3 years.

The company will also carry out the civil and electrical engineering works, as well as the substation to connect the wind farm to the national grid.

Construction works at the project site are expected to start soon with commissioning slated for 2023.

The company, which employs more than 16,000 people, says that it plans to bring its Active Generation Management 4000 (AOM 4000) system, “capable of maximising annual electricity production, while meeting (…) the requirements of the (Egyptian) National Grid Code.

According to NREA, the Gulf of Suez 1 wind farm will produce 1027 GWh of clean energy per year.

The wind farm is also expected to avoid the emission of 560,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The project has already attracted funding commitment from several financial institutions, including the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German development agency, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French Development Agency (AFD).

The Gulf of Suiz wind farm project follows an earlier announcement by NREA that it was seeking private companies to operate and maintain the 220 MW Gabel El-Zeit wind farm in the Gulf of Suez in Egypt.

NREA decided to outsource management of the firm after it failed to set up a subsidiary for the operation and maintenance of wind farms in Egypt.

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