By THE AFRICA BAZAAR Staff Writer
May 1, 2015
International business leaders and government officials met at the Renewable Energy Trade Mission meeting in Cairo last month to mull Egypt’s energy initiative to transition to renewable energy to meet the country’s consumers energy demands.
The two-day event, which took place on April 28th -29th, was organized by the Middle East Solar Industry Association (‘MESIA’), a solar association in the Middle East North Africa region, in partnership with the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and Access Power MEA, a developer, owner and operator of power assets in the Middle East and Africa
Egypt’s electricity demand is growing at one of the fastest rates in the world and the government’s clear commitment to the development of renewable energy, through the creation of bankable policy frameworks, and the support of the MESIA Trade Mission has the potential to create one of the world’s largest renewable energy markets.
Speaking ahead of the event, President of MESIA Vahid Fotuhi said Egypt’s ambitious goal to generate 20 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020 is both an incredible opportunity and challenge.
“The unprecedented scale of Egypt’s 4,300 MW round one Feed-In-Tariff program means that a vast range of stakeholders must work together to deliver success. This underscores the importance of our Trade Mission as an essential bridge between stakeholders – policy makers, the investment community and industry professionals – with the skills, expertise and resources to fundamentally change Egypt’s power sector,” Fotuhi said.
Participants, which includes Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy H.E. Mohamed Shaker, Hassan Fahmi, Chairman, Egyptian General Authority for Investment (GAFI) and Dr. Mohamed El Sobki, Executive Chairman of the New and Renewable Energy Authority, investors, policymakers, government officials from the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the United States and China, discussed Egyptian government policy regimes and foreign investment regulatory framework and got the latest update on solar and wind projects in Egypt, including project financing options, grid upgrade requirements, and the need to establish a power solar and wind association for Egypt.
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