Egypt and Kenya are investing in the construction of big wind farms as part of a grand strategy to become energy sufficient and reduce pollution, but Nigeria is yet to scratch its wind energy potential.
Egypt’s first private and largest wind farm has started operations six weeks ahead of schedule thanks to the support of its off-takers, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and a consortium of partners. This is a feat Nigeria is failing to achieve despite the country’s abundant wind supply.
Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, has launched Africa’s biggest wind power plant, at the cost of $775 million, a project aimed at reducing electricity costs and dependence on fossil fuels, nudging the nation towards meeting an ambitious goal of 100 percent green energy next year.
The sprawling wind farm of 365 turbines on the shores of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya was designed to boost electricity supply by 13 percent, giving more Kenyans access at a lower cost.
In Egypt, the ENGIE Africa consortium oversaw the construction of the 262.5 megawatts (MW) Ras Ghareb wind farm. The wind farm is now fully connected to the grid and is ready for commercial operation at maximum capacity.
Siemens Gamesa supplied the wind turbines and Orascom Construction conducted the civil and electrical works. The consortium is preparing the next wind project of 500MW, according an African Press Organisation’s report.
“There is a huge potential for low-cost renewable energy in Africa,” Yoven Moorooven, chief executive officer of ENGIE Africa, said. “We are honoured that the Egyptian authorities have selected the ENGIE consortium to be part of their strategic energy plan.”
The project company, Ras Ghareb Wind Energy SAE, is owned by ENGIE (40 percent) and its consortium partners Toyota Tsusho Corporation/Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation (40 percent) and Orascom Construction (20 percent). The wind farm is located near Ras Ghareb on the Gulf of Suez, an optimal site with about 60 percent of gross capacity factor. The energy is sold under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC). The total investment cost of the project is approximately US$380 million.
Ras Ghareb Wind Energy is the first wind farm tendered on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) scheme and is part of the Egyptian government’s drive to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix with a target wind generation capacity of 7GW by 2022.
In Nigeria, however, Research and Development (R&D) tailored towards Wind Energy Technology (WET) have been few, slow and not encouraging. The available data have not also been adequately employed to develop physical models that would translate the huge resources of wind to power.
Until recently, what was available was a small data system pointing to the availability of wind as a source of potential electricity production within the nation. Basic researches into the act of tapping wind for electricity have been non-existent within the country.
Analysts say this is because such practices involve funding and such funds have not been available anywhere for access by wind energy researchers. More so, research tailored towards development of low-cost materials for wind turbines and other renewable energy technology applications should begin. This will invariably eliminate the huge initial capital involved in starting wind energy business and also further reduce the operating and management cost of the technology, they say.
About 80 million Nigerians living in 8,000 villages across the country lack access to electricity, a World Bank report stated. Mac Cosgrove-Davies, the World Bank global lead, Energy Access, said this during the opening ceremony of the Fourth Mini-Grid Action Learning Event titled ‘Upscaling Mini-Grids for Low-Cost and Timely Access to Electricity’ in Abuja.
“It is time for Nigeria to focus on increasing the percentage of renewables in its energy mix because fossil fuels are going extinct. Of course, we need to also develop and use gas,” Ayodele Oni, energy partner at Bloomfield Law Practice, said.
Ras Ghareb Wind Energy has been developed with a continuous focus on health and safety and is completely in line with ENGIE’s ambition in the zero-carbon transition.
“We are committed to applying the same standards with the same success for the adjacent 500MW wind farm that is being developed by this consortium,” Moorooven said.
The consortium arranged non-recourse project financing from The Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC) in coordination with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Société Générale under a Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) cover. Commercial International Bank (CIB) Egypt is acting as working capital bank and Attijariwafa Bank provided an equity bridge loan for Orascom Construction.
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU
