Page 6 - AfrElec Week 34 2021

AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec

China Three Gorges buys

into MENA green markets

ASIA CHINA Three Gorges has bought Alcazar “We are proud of what we have achieved at
Energy Partners’ (AEP) renewables portfolios in Alcazar Energy Partners with the support of our
Egypt and Jordan as the Chinese giant expands investors, lenders and local governments over
into the Middle East and North Africa. the past six years. In this short period of time,
China Three Gorges South Asia Investment we have built the MENA region’s leading devel-
Ltd (CSAIL) and a group of Chinese investors oper and producer of renewable energy. Our
has bought the Dubai-based independent power plants have helped develop the renewable energy
producer (IPP), which over five years has built industry in Jordan and Egypt powering 275,000
up seven wind and solar projects in Jordan and households and saving over 15.6mn tonnes
Egypt with 411 MW of capacity. of CO2,” said Daniel Calderon, co-founder
Alcazar Energy Partners is backed by and chief executive officer of Alcazar Energy
BluStone Management and DASH Ventures, Partners.
as well as the IFC, the IFC’s Catalyst Funds and CSAIL is owned by China Three Gorges
Mubadala Infrastructure Partners. Since its Corp, while the IFC and the Silk Road Fund also
establishment in 2014, the company has mobi- hold stakes. The deal is its first in the Middle East
lised in excess of $700mn in debt and equity. and North Africa, although in 2020 it acquired
The MENA region’s renewable energy sector a 500-MW portfolio in Spain from developer
is exposed to strong structural growth trends, X-Elio.
with 157 GW of renewable energy capacity and China Three Gorges owns 75 GW of energy
additional $175bn anticipated to be invested in assets worldwide, although that consists mostly
the next ten years, AEL said. of hydro capacity in China, most of which is too
The deal could pave the way for further Chi- large to be regarded as renewable.™
nese purchases of green interests in the Middle
East.

Siemens seals 200-MW green hydrogen deal

EGYPT SIEMENS and Egyptian Electricity Holding Siemens is well-established in Egypt, and its
Company (EEHC) are to develop a 200-MW green subsidiary Siemens Gamesa supplies gen-
pilot green hydrogen production as part of a eration technology in both the fossil fuel sectors.
long-term effort to tap Egypt’s large renewable Siemens is currently supplied 14,500 MW of gas-
power resources for H2 production and export. fired turbines to the country.
“Siemens Energy and EEHC will jointly The deal with Siemens is one of a number that
promote investment, technology transfer and Egypt has signed with global developers.
implementation of projects related to hydrogen In March, EEHC signed an agreement with
production, based on renewable energy,” Sie- Belgium’s DEME group to explore the produc-
mens said this week. tion of green hydrogen in the country.
The project involves using electrolyser tech- In July, Italy’s Eni signed an agreement with
nology to turn water into hydrogen. EEHC and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding
Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch said Company (EGAS) to assess the technical and
after signing a memorandum of understanding commercial feasibility of projects for the pro-
(MoU) with EEHC that green hydrogen “has the duction of hydrogen in the country.
capacity to significantly decarbonise industry The country has 2.1 trillion cubic metres of
and expand economic diversity. The develop- gas reserves, the third largest in Africa behind
ment of a homegrown hydrogen ecosystem and Nigeria and Algeria.
value chain in Egypt has the potential to deliver The Ministry of Electricity aims to produce
a more sustainable and prosperous future for 20% of its energy from renewable sources by
Egyptians”. 2022, and 42% by 2035.
The pilot plant will “help to drive early tech- However, the development of renewables is
nology deployment, establish a partner land- not without its problems. In 2020, state-owned
scape, establish and test regulatory environment grid operator EETC cancelled a tender to
and certification, setup off-take relations, and develop 200 MW of solar PV generating capacity
define logistic concepts”, said Siemens Energy, in the West Nile province as the government was
without giving further details of possible loca- worried about future over-supply of solar power
tion or timings of the project. and problems with grid connections.w™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 26•August•2021