In June, President Abdel \u200bFattah el-Sisi met with government ministers to discuss<\/a> the faster delivery of solar and energy storage projects as well as upgrades to the electricity grid to deliver on the new goal, including 105 renewable energy projects intended to bolster grid stability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Already have an account? For 15 years, Climate Home News has rigorously reported on the decisions shaping our climate. <\/p>\n Join the community of readers who make this work possible.<\/p>\n \nJoin free and keep reading \u2192<\/a>It takes less than a minute.<\/p>\n After the US-Iran war caused energy prices to soar, ballooning Egypt\u2019s energy import bill, the government has doubled down on plans to boost renewable energy in the country\u2019s power mix \u2013 part of its broader plan to become a clean energy export hub for the region.<\/p>\n With abundant sunshine, swathes of unused desert land and plenty of wind, Egypt is seen as having the potential to become a major force in renewable power generation, helping to cut the planet-heating carbon emissions of Africa\u2019s second-largest economy and beyond.<\/p>\n The conflict in the Middle East has given the government\u2019s clean energy plans more salience, making the case for renewable power to bolster the country\u2019s energy security and help it meet its economic development goals by exporting clean power.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The government recently announced an accelerated timeline for renewables to reach 45% of the electricity mix<\/a> within two years \u2013 up from a previous target of 42% by 2030 and a huge jump from around 13% in 2025<\/a>, according to think-tank Ember.\u00a0<\/p>\n In June, President Abdel \u200bFattah el-Sisi met with government ministers to discuss<\/a> the faster delivery of solar and energy storage projects as well as upgrades to the electricity grid to deliver on the new goal, including 105 renewable energy projects intended to bolster grid stability.\u00a0<\/p>\n Big challenges lie ahead, among them a parallel bet on continued fossil fuel exploration and the need to upgrade electricity infrastructure, a task that could require multibillion-dollar investments, experts say.<\/p>\n \u201cThe technical and financial plumbing \u2013 the grid, foreign-currency financing and the supply chain \u2013 are the real gatekeepers,\u201d Nadia Elmasry, an expert at the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, told Climate Home News.<\/p>\n In a speech<\/a> to the nation in March, President Sisi said $50 billion worth of investment were needed to overhaul the electricity grid and transmission infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the COP29 climate talks in 2024, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly warned<\/a> that Egypt\u2019s targets for renewable power expansion could be missed without more international support for critical infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n Multimillion-euro investment<\/p>\n Modernising and expanding power grids has emerged as a central pillar of an intensifying global push for electrification \u2013 a key priority of the COP31<\/a> UN climate talks taking place in T\u00fcrkiye in November.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As dozens of governments led by the European Union and the UK throw their political weight<\/a> behind a rapid electrification<\/a> of the global economy, Egypt\u2019s hunt for foreign investment in power infrastructure has found sympathetic ears.<\/p>\n In June, the EU and its European Investment Bank lending arm announced<\/a> a financing package of up to \u20ac690 million ($795 million) to modernise Egypt\u2019s transmission network \u2013 widely seen as a weak point in the nation\u2019s clean energy ambitions.\u00a0<\/p>\n The project aims to help the grid absorb 22 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, reduce electricity losses and move power from wind and solar zones to consumers and, eventually, foreign markets, including the EU.\u00a0<\/p>\n New substations and transmission lines will connect wind and solar zones around the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez, reducing losses and preparing the network for future cross-Mediterranean trade.<\/p>\n Under the country\u2019s ambitious regional plans, Egypt would supply clean power via existing interconnections with Jordan, Libya and Sudan, as well as a 3 GW link under construction with Saudi Arabia.\u00a0<\/p>\n Further ahead, proposals<\/a> envision the export of renewable electricity to southern Europe via a subsea cable, and Egypt also aims to be a primary source of green hydrogen and ammonia for European markets.<\/p>\n Conflicts, cash among the challenges<\/p>\n Planned investment<\/a> in electricity and renewables reached 136.3 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.7 billion) for the 2025\/26 financial year, up from 72.6 billion pounds ($1.4 million) the year before, with public investment expected to account for about three-quarters of that.<\/p>\n Grid investment is \u201cthe cornerstone\u201d of Egypt\u2019s hub strategy, said energy and environmental economy expert Mohammed Abdel Raouf, allowing it to integrate renewables without destabilising the power system and create the smart-grid infrastructure needed to trade electricity with other countries.<\/p>\n But Egypt\u2019s plans face several major challenges, besides the necessary grid upgrades, which are estimated to cost billions of dollars alone, according to a December 2025 study<\/a> by the Amsterdam-based think-tank Transnational Institute.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regional conflicts are disrupting supply chains and discouraging investment, particularly in renewable energy, Abdel Raouf warned. High borrowing costs, financing rules, limited EU-compliant capacity and uncertain long-term buyers of Egypt\u2019s clean power could also slow progress, according to the Transnational Institute study.<\/p>\n The Arab world’s most populous country has been grappling with the aftermath of a steep currency devaluation and economic fallout from the Gaza<\/a> and Iran<\/a> wars.<\/p>\n Elmasry pointed to pressures from Egypt\u2019s shortage of foreign currency and the need for concessional finance or guarantees to make long-term projects bankable. Egypt says it has mobilised $4 billion<\/a> in concessional finance for 4.2 GW of renewable energy projects.<\/p>\n Regulatory coordination and workforce development will be essential, particularly as Egypt seeks to trade across grids governed by different technical and commercial rules, Elmasry added.<\/p>\n In order to generate an exportable surplus of clean electricity at a time of rising domestic power needs, Egypt also needs to give a bigger role to decentralised minigrid systems such as rooftop solar projects, said Cairo-based solar entrepreneur Hatem Tawfik.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will [only] be a hub in 2040 after we produce more than we need,\u201d said Tawfik, co-founder and managing director of Cairo Solar, a solar engineering, procurement and construction company, calling for cheaper loans and simpler permitting and grid-connection rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Tawfik, such small-scale projects are also fundamental to the government\u2019s goal of shoring up energy security to avert crises like that of 2023\/2024, when Egypt\u2019s falling gas output contributed to rolling blackouts during sweltering heatwaves.\u00a0<\/p>\n At a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, this is even more urgent.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn the event of war, or if a country such as Israel<\/a>, which supplies 40-60% of Egypt\u2019s [imported] gas, suddenly cut off supplies<\/a> [again], Egypt would be less vulnerable,\u201d he told Climate Home News.\u00a0<\/p>\n Storage could determine whether Egypt\u2019s renewable power is merely abundant at midday or commercially valuable around the clock.<\/p>\n \u201cStorage is what turns intermittent renewables into firm, exportable power,\u201d said Elmasry.<\/p>\n In January, Norwegian developer Scatec signed a 25-year power purchase agreement<\/a> with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company for 1.95 GW of solar and 3.9 GWh of battery storage.<\/p>\n Demand for more storage has also raised the prospect of Egypt developing a domestic battery industry.<\/p>\n Chinese company Sungrow plans to build a battery-storage-system factory in Ain Sokhna, its first<\/a> in the Middle East, with annual production capacity of 10 GWh and operations scheduled to begin in April 2027. It will provide the batteries for Scatec\u2019s energy storage project.\u00a0<\/p>\n Egypt has also granted<\/a> licences for two battery-storage projects in Aswan and Suez worth a combined $800 million. Huawei and Egyptian company AIS have meanwhile signed an agreement<\/a> to explore local production of grid-forming battery systems.<\/p>\n At the same time, Egypt is conducting<\/a> an aerial geophysical survey in search of critical minerals across six regions, a first in about half a century.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, Mohamed Gamal Kafafy, president of the World Green Economy Council, said competing directly with China would be unrealistic, suggesting Egypt should instead manufacture under Chinese licences or through joint ventures, reducing imports while building local skills.<\/p>\n The Ministry of Electricity did not respond to Climate Home News\u2019 request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mixed messages?<\/p>\n The government\u2019s climate investment programme<\/a> aims to add 10 GW of renewable capacity and retire 5 GW of inefficient fossil-fuel generation by 2028, but Egypt is not turning its back on oil and gas.<\/p>\n President Sisi told energy companies attending the Egypt Energy Show<\/a> in March to pursue a double strategy \u2013 intensifying efforts to explore and increase oil and gas production while also accelerating investment in renewable energy. The Petroleum Ministry plans to drill about 480 exploratory oil wells<\/a> over five years.<\/p>\n The risk, Tawfik said, is that a large oil or gas discovery reduces the incentive to focus on investment in renewables.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a major oil or gas discovery, such as the Zohr gas field<\/a>, leads to overconfidence, it reduces the focus on renewable energy,\u201d he said, noting that renewable project rollouts largely stagnated after the completion of the giant Benban solar park<\/a> in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n But major developments such as the El Dabaa nuclear plant and the Abydos solar and energy-storage project demonstrate that significant work is already under way to meet Egypt\u2019s clean energy hub ambitions, Tawfik said.<\/p>\n \u201cSimply implementing the existing plans would be an excellent outcome,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Main image: The Sharm El Sheikh solar power plant in Egypt (Photo:
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A man carries baskets of bread on his head through Cairo, Egypt (Photo: MM\/Flickr<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2024-07-28T085058Z_51263136_RC2C09AIDH1S_RTRMADP_3_EGYPT-ENERGY-VILLAGE-1440x981.jpg\")
A man charges his mobile phone thanks to the electric solar panels above his house at Al-Basaysa village as the country struggled with continuous power cuts in 2024 (Photo: REUTERS\/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)Home-grown batteries<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2269409610-1440x960.jpg\")
Drivers refuel vehicles at a gas station in Cairo, Egypt, after the government introduced power rationing measures due to shortages of petroleum products caused by the war between the US, Israel and Iran (Photo by Sayed Hassan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Hassan Allam Utilities)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the US-Iran war caused energy prices to soar, ballooning Egypt\u2019s energy import bill, the government has doubled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[21],"tags":[8689,1982],"class_list":["post-363882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-egypt","tag-clean-energy","tag-egypt"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/117040731276305832","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}