EGYPT – The New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) launched a tender for the operation and maintenance of the 220 MW Gabel El-Zeit wind farm in the Gulf of Suez in Egypt.

This follows a failed attempt by the Egyptian authority on renewable energy to set up a subsidiary for the operation and maintenance of wind farms in Egypt.

According to a statement from NREA, companies interested in tenders have until October 11th, 2020 to present their bids.

 The successful company will sign a contract with NREA for the operation and maintenance of the Gabel El-Zeit wind farm over a period of 5 years.

The Gabel El-Zeit wind farm was inaugurated in July 2018, by Egyptian President Abd El-Fattah El-Sisi.

It consists of 110 turbines of 2 MW each which were installed by the Spain based renewable energy comapny Siemens Gamesa.

The farm is part of the Gulf of Zeit wind energy complex which is the biggest wind complex in MENA region with total installed capacity of 580 MW

It is in a location that is reported to experience the most optimum conditions for wind farms such as wind speed, wind stability and ground terrain.

This vantage position 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%.

The entire Gulf of Zeit complex was developed by the Egyptian government as part of its goal of increasing the amount of clean energy in the Egyptian national grid.

The park is expected to produce more than 47 million 48 thousand Mwh in its life time and as a result reduce the fossil fuel consumption in Egypt by more than 3 million Ton.

The entire park will also contribute towards reducing the amount of Greenhouse gases emission and is projected to expected to save more than 25.8 million Ton equivalent of Co2.

The 220MW park in itself, adds around 1% of the total electricity generation capacity in Egypt, and data from the government shows that it helps address climate change issues by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 494,000 tonnes per year.

The project was financed with a $350 million loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

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