The Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy’s Spokesman, Mohamed Al Yamani, stated that Gabal el Zeit wind farm will start operation in  2017 and will be a great addition in Egypt’s wind energy. The facility’s power production will reach 7110MW of wind electricity by 2022, reported Al Borsa.

In related news, Al Yamani stated that Egypt will construct renewable energy power plants worth an estimates $13.4b and a total capacity of 9689MW, until 2022. The ministry seeks to increase the use of new and renewable energy in lieu of traditional sources of energy in order to avoid inflated costs associated with fuel importation.

The ministry plans to boost renewable energy to produce 20% of the country’s power by 2022. During the first phase,  the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) will issue tenders for the construction of new power plants and establish power purchasing agreements through the country’s FiT program.

Al Yamani’s comments came on the sidelines of the International Conference on the New Trends for Sustainable Energy.