UK to import electricity from Egypt solar farms 

Plans are underway which could lead to Britain bolstering its energy security by importing electricity from solar farms and wind turbines in Egypt, according to a report on Friday by The Telegraph.

Details of the project, involving the installation of subsea cables connecting the North African country to Europe via the Mediterranean will be unveiled at an energy summit in London this week the report said.

Carlos Diaz, director of renewables and power at Rystad, the energy research and business intelligence firm organising the EMEA Summit to be held on Wednesday, was quoted as saying: “European demand for low carbon electricity is expected to grow substantially over the next three years. Building infrastructure in Europe may never be sufficient so we need to look at other sources.”

The report noted that the sources include a series of giant solar farms built or under construction in the Egyptian deserts and wind farms built close to the Suez Canal, “an area known for strong steady winds.”

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It is anticipated that together, they can generate about 10 gigawatts of power, which is roughly the equivalent of 10 British power stations.

“About a third of the power will be used in Greece and the rest will be exported to the rest of Europe,” said Diaz.

“Europe already has a good grid network so this should allow distribution of the power all the way to Northern Europe and the UK,” he added.

In July, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said Egypt had updated its Nationally Determined Contribitions (NDC) plan by aiming to generate 42 per cent of its electricity using renewable energy sources by 2030, instead of 2035. Egypt is home to Africa’s largest solar park and one of the largest in the world, the Benban Solar Park near Aswan which was launched in 2018 in line with the government’s renewable energy strategy.