EBRD and GCF to Fund USD 100 Mn to Red Sea Wind Energy for New Wind Farm in Gulf of Suez Area

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) continues its support for Egypt’s green transition by issuing a senior secured loan of up to US$ 100 million to Red Sea Wind Energy.

The loan will fund the development, construction and operation of a new 500 MW onshore wind farm located in the Gulf of Suez area.

The loan consists of a portion of up to US$ 50 million from the EBRD and a portion of up to US$ 50 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in favour of Red Sea Wind Energy.

The loan is co-financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and private commercial banks insured by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, and is the Bank’s first project to be co-financed by those Japanese institutions.

Red Sea Wind Energy is a joint-stock company incorporated in Egypt and owned by a consortium of sponsors, including Engie, Orascom Construction, Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Eurus Energy.

This will be Egypt’s third private wind farm and it is expected to be the largest in Africa. It will help reduce around one million tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year, the equivalent of taking about 217,000 cars off the road. The energy generated will be sold to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) over a period of 25 years.

Nandita Parshad, Managing Director of the EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group, said: “We are very proud to support this significant wind farm in the Gulf of Suez, the first for us as lead development partner for the energy pillar of the country’s ground-breaking NWFE initiative. This is a milestone project that will advance a fundamental shift away from Egypt’s reliance on hydrocarbons, create new green business and employment opportunities, reduce pollution and avoid CO₂ emissions. The EBRD is and will proudly continue to be one of Egypt’s key partners on its green transition journey.”

Kavita Sinha, Director of GCF’s Private Sector Facility, said: “GCF is proud to support this initiative, which will be the first wind farm under the programme and the largest in Africa. It is a strong example of the importance of innovative financing models, as Egypt rapidly scales up the deployment of private sector capital to facilitate the adoption of clean technologies at scale.”