Prospects of Renewable Energy (RE) Sector in Egypt

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Environics was commissioned by the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) to prepare a study that tackles the barriers holding back the prospects of the renewable energy sector in Egypt with a focus on wind energy and photovoltaics (PV).

Environics prepared a study entitled “Prospects of Renewable Energy Sector in Egypt,” which outlined actions for supporting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) providers of RE services under the prevailing institutional and technological conditions in Egypt, with a focus on wind energy and solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies. The study used a systems approach, where the focal points were institutional, market, and technological components.

The relevant RE technologies were deconstructed in order to understand their dynamics and interconnections. The study included an account of institutional variables, where the RE institutional structure was taken as a component of the overall RE system. It also included an assessment of the status quo and potentials of the PV and wind energy market supply. The technology and institutional analysis, along with the analysis of the market supply, served as building blocks for the recommendations developed in the study.

Data was collected using multiple techniques, such as reviewing relevant studies, and interviewing representative stakeholders in the Egyptian supply market and representatives of the Research and Development (R&D) sector. Stakeholders included manufacturers and potential manufacturers, governmental officials, and researchers. Interviewed stakeholders were selected to be as representative as possible of different market segments: large and small/medium players, well-established players, and potential market entrants. In the R&D sector, head officials and junior researchers were interviewed.

Given the limited number of PV-related producers and consultancies in Egypt, the interviewed sample—which included nine system producers: a financial banker; a World Bank official; a representative from a continental development bank; an ex-official in a military institution, and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) official from the Federation of Egyptian Industries—was representative of reality. Wind turbine manufacturers in Egypt were even more limited, and the interviews conducted covered most of the current actors. The collected data were analysed to serve the required outcome of the study. To filter out unreliable and invalid data, quality was assured by triangulation, and Internet sources were used when relevant.

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