Egypt to export solar power after costs fall
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Egypt plans to start its first solar power unit in 2010, but in order to expand solar power production for export, costs of the technology would need to fall first to make it feasible.
The North African country, a gas and oil producer, aims to generate 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. It already has installed wind capacity of 430 megawatts and is adding 120 megawatts by mid 2010.
Wind farms are expected to meet 12 percent of Egypt’s power needs by 2020 but solar power projects have lagged.
Egypt, whose population is concentrated on just 10 percent of its land, has ample desert areas to set up solar power units. The most populous Arab country is also situated in the sun belt where sunshine is available all year round for power generation.
Electricity and Energy Minister Hassan Younes told a conference on renewable energy that Egypt could export to Europe via Libya and Tunisia, which are in turn linked with Morocco and Spain.
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