Highlights:

• Egypt targets 42% renewable energy share by 2030.
• POWERCHINA to build 130-km high-voltage line signed on June 25.
• National grid expansion remains critical as renewables grow.

Egypt is scaling up its electricity transmission infrastructure as it pushes to integrate more solar and wind power into its energy mix, which it aims to make 42% renewable by 2030.

A key step came on June 25, when Egypt signed a contract with POWERCHINA to construct a 130-kilometer 500 kV transmission line, reinforcing the network’s ability to carry electricity from desert-based solar and wind sites without congestion or technical losses.

This ultra-high voltage line is part of a broader strategy to efficiently evacuate power from flagship sites such as the Benban solar park in Aswan, a 1.8 GW facility among the largest in Africa. The site already connects to the national grid through multiple 500/220 kV transformer substations, ensuring the delivery of electricity to northern consumption hubs.

Wind farms including Ras Ghareb and Gabal El Zeit in the Gulf of Suez also depend on high-capacity corridors to move power inland. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), robust transmission infrastructure is essential for scaling up variable energy sources like solar and wind.

Despite significant investments, including 3,600 km of 500 kV lines and 30 transformer stations built between 2014 and 2020, Egypt’s grid remains insufficiently sized to absorb projected growth in renewables, which still account for less than 12% of the national energy mix as of 2024.

In response, the Egypt Electricity Transmission Company has initiated further upgrades. For 2023–2024, the government allocated 7.6 billion Egyptian pounds (approximately $300 million) to expand the high-voltage network, according to Egypt Today.

Additional support comes from the NWFE (Nexus of Water, Food and Energy) program, which secured $220 million in funding with backing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The funds will connect 2.1 GW of renewable energy projects currently under development in the Gulf of Suez.

This article was initially published in French by Abdel-Latif Boureima

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho