CAIRO: Solar power is a no-brainer for Egypt and the government here apparently is starting to see the usefulness of harnessing the power of the sun. Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younis met with officials and energy experts on Monday to discuss new ways of overcoming the power problem facing the Arab world's largest country. At the meeting, Younis demanded that all maintenance work be halted until the end of the summer season and called on energy companies to work toward new ways of increasing output to buttress local shortages. The Minister ordered the formation of working group for following up performance of generating units and solving any problems that appear during the operation of units. At the meeting, Younis established a team to look at preparing the country for the first solar energy station that will put out some 140 MW of power. He argued this station will be one of only a handful of its kind across the world and would be linked to the country's national electricity network. It comes as Egypt continues to look for alternative energy solutions to shortages across the country. The ministry has already established a number of wind farms on the east coast and hopes this will help produce 20 percent of Egyptian power by the end of the decade. Wind power initiatives have already received a strong push, with the ministry reporting that bids for the construction of a 1,000 Megawatt energy park in the Gulf of Suez will open next month. The new facility will be located on the Gabal el-Zeit area and will be a “build-own-operate” idea that will give more incentive for companies to put forward tender bids, said ministry spokesman Aktham Abou el-Ella. “Ninety percent of the land in Egypt is empty and is suitable for setting up wind farms,” Abou El-Ella said. “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.” Wind is not new to Egypt, with a 500 MW power plant already established in the Zaafrana are of the Gulf of Suez, however, the ministry believes that this new effort will spark more interest in the budding field. “We believe that through the incentive idea, companies will be more willing to enter the market because they will get the profits from their construction as well,” el-Ella told Bikya Masr. Despite the positive efforts made by the North African country to have 14 percent of its power from renewable sources of energy, the ministries of electricity and environment believe the country can double this by 2025 if options are made available. According to an environment ministry official in the Red Sea, Egypt has the potential to “show the world how renewable energy can be profitable and sustainable.” BM
