Egypt’s Wind Prowess Strengthens

Egypt leads the continent – for the moment – with its wind energy production. And now production has been made easier since Egyptian-owned company El Sewedy established its wind division, SWEG, in partnership with German wind tower manufacturer SIAG. SWEG will produce wind towers in the North African country (SWEG Breaks Ground on Wind Facility in Egypt) for domestic use and regional exports.

Although production for the first towers ordered began in December, El Sewedy and SIAG held their official opening ceremony yesterday at the plant located in the Gulf of Suez in Ain Sukhna. Present for the ceremony were top executives from both companies, the Governor of Suez, the Minister of Electricity, and the Minister of Trade and Investment.

CEO of El Sewedy Sadek El Sewedy said, “Egypt is becoming the first hub of wind energy in the region.” The country is striving to meet its target of generating 7,200 MW of wind energy by 2020 which could create up to 75,000 jobs.

However, the company made it clear that in order to progress to reach these ambitious goals, Egypt would need to enact a feed-in tariff (FIT) system. And although two ministers were present, neither specified a date or even in-depth discussions about FITs being implemented.

Egypt’s Minister of Electricity, Dr. Hassan Younes, said that while Egypt was currently producing 450 MW of wind energy, the end of May would see a 100-MW increase.

El Sewedy currently has 23 facilities in 12 countries with 15,000 employees and an annual turnover of $12 billion. After acquiring Spanish wind energy equipment manufacturer M. Torres Olvega, the 2008-created SWEG had El Sewedy anticipating sales to reach $584 million by 2011. Considering the fact the company is currently building two other factories – one in the 10^th of Ramadan that will produce blades – that goal is possible since it will allow El Sewedy to be a one-stop shop with a strategic location. Producing domestically will not only generate local employment opportunities, but will also reduce manufacturing costs which is a win-win for all involved.

Subscribe to Alternative Energy Africa today for more in depth news in the alternative/renewable energy sector and be sure to grab your risk-free trial to see what we’re doing for 2010.