Cooperation with Egypt Wind energy from the desert

    Hurghada in Egypt is primarily known as a holiday destination. The city on the Red Sea is particularly popular with windsurfers and kitesurfers – the wind is very reliable. Not only does this create ideal conditions for sports, it also makes the area around Hurghada a perfect location for wind farms.

    Four of the 70 wind turbines at the Gulf of Suez wind farm.

    In 2024, the Gulf of Suez wind farm located in the desert 20 kilometres from the coast was inaugurated. Since then, its 70 wind turbines have been turning their rotors continuously. Each one has a capacity of 3.6 MW. Together, they generate 1,200 GWh of green electricity per year and supply around 400,000 households in the area with sustainable electricity. In addition, they save around 500,000 tonnes in carbon emissions each year – a major contribution to climate protection.

    The wind farm was built with German support, with the BMZ playing a key role in coordinating the financing. In addition to Germany, the European Union, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD) also provided funding.

    Through this support, the German government is furthering Egypt’s plan of raising the share of renewable energy in the power mix to 42 per cent by 2030. There is still a long way to go – Egypt currently meets less than a fifth of its electricity needs via clean energy sources. However, the conditions for wind and solar power are very good in Egypt; the country generally exceeds the global average potential in both areas.

    Projects such as the Gulf of Suez wind farm are important for the country’s overall development prospects and for climate protection. They also offer opportunities for regions that are often structurally weak. In this case, local people benefited from new jobs – during the construction of the plant alone, up to 70 per cent of the workers came from nearby municipalities.