Egypt sets aside over 16K square miles for green hydrogen

Egypt sets aside over 16K square miles for green hydrogen

June 5, 2024 0 By Hydrogen Fuel News

The country’s government has granted the New and Renewable Energy Authority use of the space

The Egyptian government has set aside a tremendous 41,700 square kilometers (more than 16,000 square miles) to be used for green hydrogen production.

The purpose is to ensure there is enough space for clean energy resources

The space was allocated for use by the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), so that it will have the land it needs for expanding renewable energy projects. 

Green hydrogen is a type of clean H2 that is produced using water electrolysis that has been powered by renewable energy such as solar and wind.  Therefore, in order to be able to truly expand the production of this type of H2, adequate land is required for renewable power generation.

Egypt is particularly wealthy when it comes to sun exposure and steady wind, meaning that by committing enough land to solar and wind farms, it has the potential for substantial clean electricity generation. 

Green hydrogen will allow the country to store and transport that clean energy

Among the challenges associated with electricity generation through renewable methods such as solar and wind is that they are dependent on sunny days, daylight hours, and regular winds.  Therefore, they may produce far more electricity than is needed during their peak production, while producing none at all at other times.

Green hydrogen - Wind and Solar at Dusk

By using the electricity to produce green hydrogen, the energy can be stored and transported for use where and when demand requires it.

The allocation of the land for the clean energy production was announced during a cabinet meeting called by Mohamed El-Khayat, the chairperson of the NREA.

According to El-Khayat, there remains another 900 square kilometers (about 560 square miles) that have yet to be allocated for use in green energy production.

That said, the allocated space is specifically designated for green hydrogen production sites for which there have already been 27 signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) among a number of different clean energy investors. 

A massive clean energy production strategy

hydrogen news ebookTallied together, the various projects that will be using the allocated space will have a capacity of about 115 gigawatts (GWs).  This total includes 63 GWs of wind energy and 52 GWs of solar energy.

Some of the land that has been approved by the Egyptian government for this use is located along the Red Sea and the Suez governorates.  Those will have an estimated capacity of 4.4 GWs of wind energy and 11 GWs of solar energy, said El-Khayat.

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