Assessment of the Planned Expansion of Renewable Energy in Egypt

Abstract

In the continue of meeting the energy demand as well as decreasing the CO2 emission and production costs, Egypt has expanded its power capacity of the renewable power plants. However, such expansion could lead to energy production failure due to the unreliable and unfeasible operation of such unconventional technology, if used without assessment. In this contribution, the planned expansion (till 2030) of renewable energy has been evaluated using an optimization model. The model has two phases, in which Phase-A estimates the cost and capacity of the PV, CSP, and Wind plants, while Phase-B optimizes the plants according to the required demand (i.e., the contribution of PV, CSP, and Wind). The available data (i.e., intensity, storage, and temperature effect) is used as an input to Phase-A, while the calculated cost and capacity are used as an input to Phase-B. The results are presented in terms of spatial and temporal distributions. The result successfully identified the promising renewable plants (i.e., type and location), as well as mix-installations of different renewable plants, were captured. Specifically, CSP plants contribute ≈20% of the power demand, especially in Upper Egypt, due to their higher capacities although their higher cost. Meanwhile, the PV plants are contributed ≈40% and are unpreferable for installation in Upper Egypt. Furthermore, it is recommended to install Wind plants near the Red-sea region with a ≈40% power contribution. This study is expected to insight our understanding into the planned expansion of renewable energies in Egypt; aiming to evaluate its potential.