Egypt needs renewable energy for growing industry

Egypt, a significant natural gas exporter, needs to develop renewable energy including wind generation if it is to power its growing domestic industries, a senior Egyptian official said on Monday.

“We are concerned that, although we have reserves in terms of natural gas and oil, we all know that this has a limitation in terms of period,” Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid told Reuters in an interview, although he added that the unpredictability of exploration results meant it was impossible to say how long reserves would last.
“At the same time, we are under the pressure of the growing demand of the industry in Egypt, so the renewable energy is a very important part of our energy equation at the moment,” Rachid said.

“If we are able to generate more energy through renewable sources, whether it’s wind or water or solar or nuclear, that means that we can also put our natural gas to better usage in the future,” he said, explaining that gas also had other industrial uses apart from being burnt for power.

Foreign direct investment has risen sharply in Egypt since the government began an economic liberalisation programme, and should hit $10 billion this year, up from $2 billion three years ago, Rachid said.

Reuters