Egypt's President reviews energy plan, stresses renewables and localisation

Daily News Egypt

4 days ago

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has directed the government to intensify efforts to attract investment in the renewable energy sector and pursue the local manufacturing of its components, the presidency said in a statement.
The president met in Alamein City on Tuesday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Essmat to review the electricity ministry's action plan.
According to presidential spokesperson Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, the discussion covered the development of Egypt's energy mix, the use of renewable energy and storage batteries, and efforts to improve the national grid through electrical interconnection projects.
The electricity minister outlined measures taken by the ministry to improve services, including coordinating with the petroleum ministry to secure gas and fuel for power stations. He also detailed the regular monitoring of maintenance programmes, efforts to combat electricity theft and reduce losses in the network.
Essmat stated that plans were underway to add approximately 2,000 megawatts (MW) of new capacity from renewable sources, representing investments of around $2.3bn.
The spokesperson added that the meeting also addressed efforts to localise the manufacturing of equipment for the electricity and renewable energy sectors. This includes coordination with major foreign companies that manufacture storage batteries and wind turbines to establish those industries in Egypt.
The minister provided an update on the national grid's capacity to absorb renewable energy. He noted that current installed renewable capacity totals 8,031 MW, sourced from wind, solar, and hydropower. The meeting also reviewed projections for renewable capacity in 2030 under the country's Integrated and Sustainable Energy Strategy, as well as the expected solar and wind capacity to be added to the grid by June 2028.
The spokesperson said the meeting also covered developments on major energy projects. These include the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, the 3,000 MW Egypt-Saudi Arabia electrical interconnection project with investments of about $1.8bn, and the ongoing efforts to implement the Egypt-Greece electrical interconnection.
President Al-Sisi stressed the need for the government to ensure a sustainable supply of electricity for the national grid, industrial sectors, and services, and to intensify work on projects aimed at raising the efficiency of the energy system.
He directed the government to continue improving electricity services in all governorates and to enhance the national grid's ability to handle expected increases in consumption. This would be achieved through the continuous modernisation of generation plants, transmission and distribution networks, and control centres, the statement said.