GE, partners to study 1.5 GW of offshore wind in Gulf of Suez

US industrial conglomerate GE (NYSE:GE), Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and Dubai-based engineering firm Seasplit Technologies will study the feasibility of developing 1.5 GW of offshore wind power in the Gulf of Suez.

This is under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the companies on the sidelines of the COP27 climate summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt and announced by GE on Monday.

The initiative is aimed at the industrial decarbonisation of the Gulf of Suez, with offshore wind contemplated to power offshore oil and gas facilities and potentially feed excess generation into the grid.

According to Seasplit data analysis, the Gulf of Suez can accommodate up to 10 GW of wind capacity, said the firm’s chief executive Hussein Mesharafa.

“This initiative has the potential to establish Egypt as a regional hub and exporter of renewable power and can set new benchmarks in the delivery of clean energy to drive industrial operations,” commented Joseph Anis, president and chief executive of GE Gas Power EMEA.

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla, who attended the signing, said that the agreement “is in line with the strategy of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in moving towards clean energy, and benefiting from offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Suez.”

The initiative is a first of its kind in Africa and the Middle East.

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