West Bakr Wind project : Lekela reaches financial close on Egyptian wind farm

Lekela Power, a Dutch renewable energy producer, has achieved financial close on the 250MW West Bakr Wind project, the company’s first wind project in Egypt, as per the latest Egyptian wind industry news.

West Bakr Wind project location

To be constructed 30km north-west of Ras Ghareb in the Gulf of Suez, the West Bakr Wind project has secured $252 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

The Egyptian wind farm near Ras Ghareb will be constructed and operated by Lekela Egypt Wind Power, a subsidiary of Lekela Power, which in turn was established by Actis Energy Fund III and Mainstream Renewable Power in 2015 to focus on developing onshore wind power generation projects across Africa.

The EBRD, IFC and OPIC are supporting the West Bakr Wind project in Egypt with $252m loan. Photo courtesy of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

West Bakr Wind project construction and commissioning

Lekela Power expects to begin construction on the Egyptian wind farm shortly with a target to make it fully operational by 2021. The Egyptian wind project will employ up to 550 people during its peak construction stage.

Once operational, the West Bakr Wind project will have the capacity to generate more than 1,000GWh of power annually, which is enough to meet the power consumption needs of more than 350,000 homes, while offsetting 550,000 tons per year of carbon emissions. The Lekela wind farm in Egypt is backed by a power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC).

The West Bakr wind farm is set to boost the wind energy capacity in Egypt by 14% which will help the country reach its goal of producing 20% of electricity from renewable sources by the year 2022.

West Bakr Wind project contract

The West Bakr wind farm will be equipped with 96 SG 2.6-114 turbines to be supplied by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy under an EPC contract. The Spanish wind turbine manufacturer will also be responsible for the long-term maintenance services of the Egyptian wind farm under a 15-year long-term services agreement.

Chris Antonopoulos – CEO of Lekela Power, commenting on the financial close on the West Bakr Wind project, said: “This is a major milestone, not just for Lekela and its partners, but also for Egypt and its clean energy strategy. We are proud to play a part in supporting the diversification of Egypt’s generation capacity by delivering best-in-class clean energy projects.

“As our first project in Egypt, we have enjoyed working closely with partners and stakeholders, including the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company and the New and Renewable Energy Authority, to get to this point. We see great opportunity to invest in wind energy in Egypt, and we look forward to working in the country for years to come.”

For more Egyptian wind industry news and updates on the West Bakr Wind project, keep following Business News Today.