CAIRO: It is a question observers are constantly pondering in Egypt. Can the country really alleviate its current petroleum addiction by going solar? With the ministry of electricity announcing this week that it will open bids for a 1,000 megawatt solar-wind energy park in the Gulf of Suez in September, the questions need answering, but nobody is taking a stand and Egypt's energy conundrum continues. According to Aktham Abou El-Elia, a spokesman for the ministry, the bids are for the construction of the 1,000 MW park to be placed in the Gabal el-Zeit area. It is part of the Egyptian government's “build-own-operate” idea that will give those bidding the opportunity to profit post-construction. “90 percent of the land in Egypt is empty and is suitable for setting up wind farms,” Abou El-Ella said in an interview in Cairo. “With solar power, plant costs are very high, and with hydraulic power reaching its maximum capacity, wind farms remain the best option for renewable energy in Egypt,” the spokesman added. Although the new project is ambitious, Egypt already is able to generate 500 MW of power through wind projects in a close-by area. It isn't convincing many, however, that Egypt is truly behind its potential of harnessing the sun and wind that daily beats down on the country. “Egypt has the ability to really tackle solar energy because of its nearly constant sun that comes onto the land,” said energy expert Hassan Ibrahim. He argued that while in cities it isn't plausible to implement a wide scale solar effort due to the staggered rooftops that shade too much of certain areas, “in the desert and outside the metropolis areas, there is a real possibility.” He added that one of the main problems facing Egypt, and other areas of the globe that have over 300 days of sun annually is greed. “It really is not a huge economic possibility at this point. Companies are unwilling to really go after solar power because it is not exactly economically feasible in the short term,” he said. What he believes is that companies and governments must come together on a long-term project analysis that sees the profit in going solar. If this can happen, then “the world can really see movement in increasing the technology that is currently weak in harnessing the sun.” In Cairo, economists are not convinced. The government also appears to be on the side of caution. They are putting forward these projects, while large, without having a strong renewable energy platform for the future, said one environment ministry official, who asked not to be named. The official argued that “Egypt is the perfect country to get really going on experimenting with these sources of energy that could do wonders for the environment, but right now, we are doing too little.” Without a solid long-term strategy to tackle energy needs in the country, which in the next five years is expecting water and electricity shortages, “the country may see itself dragging behind the rest of the world as we continue to believe in oil.” The North African country has large natural gas reserves and this could be one of the main reasons that renewable energy has yet to really take hold in the government circles. Economist Gale Brown, an American environmental economy expert, believes that Egypt is a few years off from implementing a widespread policy that looks into the future benefits of solar and wind power. “What we are seeing is the beginning of what could be a massive countrywide change in the status quo, but it will take time because economists are yet to get on board with the idea that climate change needs to be tackled with long-term benefits in mind,” Brown said. Currently, Egypt garners some 14 percent of its power from renewable energy sources and has plans to increase this to 20 percent by the end of the decade. However, the question remains: can Egypt go solar. The sun is there, but is the government willing to put forward the funding to make it a reality? Some say yes, others say no. For now, it is a waiting game. BM
