The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) is in negotiations with the German energy giant Siemens, to set a tariff for the purchase of 180 MW generated from wind power stations, to be inaugurated as a first phase of the projects signed during the economic conference in Sharm El Sheikh in 2015, with a capacity of 2,000 MW. Sources in the EETC told Daily News Egypt that the price will be under 3.6 cents per kWh, and that they expect to reach an agreement within the coming month, given that the company has completed the studies of the project. The government has decided to amend the contract with Siemens for the construction of 2,000 MW wind farms with investments of €2bn on a build, own, operate scheme (BOO), instead of an equity-based compensation scheme. DNE was told that Siemens is in the process of choosing between Toyota-Orascom and El Sewedy-Marubeni consortiums to set up the first stage of the project. A selection will be made after the conclusion of the deal with EETC. Siemens will start implementing two phases of projects which have a capacity of 2,000 MW. It will set up a plant of 180 MW in Ras Gharib and a 650 MW plant in the Gulf of Suez. Egypt plans to generate 20% of its total power from renewable energy by 2022. The current energy output is now standing at 44,000 MW, including 2,400 MW from hydropower plants (5.5%), 1,000 MW from wind farms, and 170 MW from solar plants. The sources pointed out that the projects under implementation are on a BOO system. The investors carry out implementation and finance, while the EETC buys the power produced.
