Fortescue secures land rights for 7.6GW of wind and solar for Egypt green hydrogen plans

Andrew Forrest’s green energy platform Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) says it has secured exclusive land rights to host up to 7.6GW of large scale wind and solar to produce green hydrogen in Egypt.

FFI says it has signed a major Framework Agreement at the UN-sponsored COP27 climate talks, also being held in Egypt, with the country’s government.

“The binding agreement provides FFI access and exclusive land rights to study renewable energy resources in Egypt, which would include solar wind,” the company said in a statement.

“The projects being considered could support a potential capacity of 7,600MW of renewable energy, which has the potential to produce 330 kilo-tonnes per annum of green hydrogen.”

That proposed capacity is less than the 9.2GW that was discussed in September when Forrest, the executive chairman of Fortescue Metals, met with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and signed an MoU.

Egypt has sought to use the COP27 negotiations – which are due to end this weekend – as a launchpad for its green hydrogen ambitions and its desire to tap into its significant wind and solar resources and source 42 per cent of its power needs from renewables by 2035.

Last week, UAE-based renewables developer Masdar announced plans to build a 10GW onshore wind farm in Egypt that will be among the world’s largest, that will form part of a “Green Corridor” initiative.

Earlier this week, global energy giant GE announced that it could deploy 1.5GW of offshore wind to help decarbonise oil and gas production in the Gulf of Suez under an alliance with Egyptian fossil group EGAS.

On Thursday, Dubai-based Amea Power signed an agreement with the Egypt government to develop a green hydrogen project powered by 2,000MW of wind and solar capacity, and will have a capacity to produce 800,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year for domestic and international export.

“A big company like FFI showing interest in the Egyptian market underscores the attractiveness of the investment climate in Egypt, as well as its capabilities in the renewable energy field,” Egypt prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said in the statement issued by Fortescue.

“Energy projects are vital, as they align with the government’s strategy to transform Egypt into a global renewable energy hub.”

The FFI announcement follows news earlier this week that it was proposing a massive 10GW renewables hub in the north of Queensland, along with its multi-gigawatt Clarke Creek renewable hub further south, and its proposed 5.2GW of wind and solar in the Pilbara region in Western Australia.

FFI CEO Mark Hutchinson said the wind and solar proposal would bring jobs and economic growth to Egypt and laid the groundwork for it to begin harnessing its excellent natural resources and generate the renewable energy required to produce large scale green hydrogen and green ammonia.