Siemens Gamesa has secured a contract from Lekela Power for the construction of the 250MW West Bakr wind project in Egypt.
Under the terms of the contract, the Spanish wind turbine manufacturer will supply 96 units of SG 2.6-114 turbines and also install them at the facility. The company will also provide maintenance services for 15 years.
Located 30km north-west of Ras el Ghareb, in the Gulf of Suez, the facility will generate 1,000GWh of electricity annually, which is enough to power 350,000 households. It will also offset approximately 550,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
SGRE Onshore CEO Alfonso Faubel said: “We are proud to have been selected to contribute to the ambitious goals in renewable energy the Government has set for the coming years. Our aim is to support the government to deliver long term and lasting impact for our communities, environmentally, economically and socially.”
The West Bakr wind project is expected to be operational in 2021
The first wind turbines is expected to delivered in mid-next year and the facility is set to come online in 2021.
Earlier this year, Lekela signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) and network connection contract with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company and the New and Renewable Energy Company Authority..
Lekela CEO Chris Antonopoulos said, “We have enjoyed working closely with Siemens Gamesa on Lekela’s first project in Egypt.
“We are proud to play a part in diversifying Egypt’s generation capacity by delivering best-in-class clean energy projects.
“As a long-term operator, we are focused on delivering lasting impact, which is why we focus on creating generation spanning benefits for local communities.”
Local subcontractors will handle all civil and most electrical and logistical work and a significant number of the wind turbine towers will be manufactured in Egypt. It is predicted that 70% of the facility’s construction scope will be delivered by local subcontractors, giving a boost the local economy.
The West Bakr wind project, which is part Egypt’s build, own, operate (BOO) framework, will raise the country’s installed wind energy capacity by 18%, up to 1,650MW. The facility will help Egypt in reaching its target of 20% of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2022.
Siemens Gamesa claims to have installed over 3.1GW turbines in countries including Egypt, South Africa, Morocco or Tunisia.
