Egypt targets coal exit by 2040 – minister

Egypt is stepping up climate protection efforts with far-reaching reforms, including plans to stop the use of coal-fired power by 2040, said its Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker on Monday.

The ministry has allocated 7,600 kilometres of lands to implement new and renewable energy generation projects in the upcoming few years, the minister further told Amwal Al Ghad on the sidelines of an energy conference in Cairo.

“We are offering some customs exemptions to encourage investors to develop new projects there.” Minister Shaker said.

“There are vast spaces in Benban solar park in Awan that will be offered to investors to carry out new and renewable energy projects that will increase the power generated from the park to an estimated of 2,000 megawatts from 1,465 megawatts currently.”

Around 29,000 megawatts were added, having a total compound capacity of around 57,000 megawatts in the past seven years, he added.

At the same time, the minister said Egypt aims for renewables to account for more than 42 percent of the country’s gross electricity demand by 2035.

Minister Shaker said he expects the compound capacity of renewables to reach around 10,000 megawatts by the end of 2023.

Egypt will be hosting the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference in November 2022. The country plans to work to make the conference “a radical turning point in international climate efforts in coordination with all parties, for the benefit of Africa and the entire world,” President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said earlier in September.