Egypt's Energy Transition, Saudi Power Surge, and MENA's Evolution in the Global Energy Landscape

Energy & Utilities reported from Egypt and looked toward COP 28 opening in Dubai this month.

The Egypt Energy Leadership Conference, at Egypt International Exhibition Centre (EIEC) in Cairo last week, had more than 55 experts engaged in presentations, chats, and panel discussions across three days.

Day one saw senior stakeholders delve deeply into the issue of accelerating the energy transition process in Egypt and North African countries through expanding smart solutions, solar energy, and green hydrogen.

Four speakers discussed Progress on Egypt’s Energy Transition, highlighting the important role of the government’s incentive packages for the country’s progress in renewable power development.

Egypt’s power grid and expanding international connections came into focus during Day 2. Ministry officials and energy experts emphasized the feasibility of electrical interconnection projects to stimulate the expansion of renewable energy sources and support the reliability of regional grid networks.

On the final day of discussions, five experts looked at ten years of progress in the power sector, where projects since 2014 have expanded capacity with a mix of renewables and new Siemens-built thermal generating plants. Smart grids, to alleviate persistent supply problems, were also discussed.?

E&U reported on a report launched during a pre-COP event in Abu Dhabi, entitled Tripling Renewable Power and Doubling Energy Efficiency by 2030: Crucial Steps Towards 1.5 °C, the report was produced by the Presidency of COP28, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA).

An interview with Frank Wouters gave perspective on the report and offered clear thinking on the link between the expansion of renewables and the emerging hydrogen sector. Frank discussed the challenge of getting the plethora of green hydrogen projects to FID and what he would like to see from the climate talks in Dubai to really get this new sector going.

The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) announced winning bidders for four conventional IPP projects, each with a power production capacity of 1.8 gigawatts (GW). SPPC also announced that it signed PPAs for the 400 MW Tabarjal and the 1100 MW Al Henakiyah Solar PV Projects under the National Renewable Energy Program.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) announced signing a $3 billion (equivalent to SAR 11.25 billion) international syndicated facility agreement with four leading banks in the region. And SEC’s joint-venture with the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company, officially adopted “EVIQ” as its brand name.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) announced that they will invest in West Africa's first energy sector social bond, a securitization vehicle is issuing the bond to support the C?te d'Ivoire government's Electricity for All Program (PEPT).

And the European Union will invest €60m ($63m) in upgrading the aging Nalubaale and Kiira hydropower plant complex in Uganda.

The Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Francesco La Camera, wrote in an opinion that the MENA region is redefining its role, that fossil fuel-driven growth has proven to be unsustainable, despite creating tremendous growth, and new energies will create enormous economic opportunity for the Middle East and North Africa.

La Camera was writing in the wake of IRENA’s World Energy Transition Outlook (WETO) published in June.

Energy & Utilities will continue to follow the region’s changing roles as the nations of MENA and rest of the world come to Dubai for the 28th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC. We will be reporting directly from the event at EXPO City.