By: OrePulse

Dubai-based private equity firm Alcazar Energy Partners has lined up $436 million of debt for two new wind farms on Egypt's Red Sea coast, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and Germany's DEG each contributing an equal share, the company said this week. The EBRD and the EIB are multilateral development banks that invest in infrastructure and private-sector projects across emerging markets, while DEG is part of Germany's state-owned KfW development finance group.

The financing covers the 250-megawatt Niat wind farm and the 250-megawatt Rasgha wind farm, both located near Ras Ghareb, giving the two projects a combined capacity of 500 megawatts. Alcazar put the total value of the two projects at $626 million. The debt is backed by European Union guarantees issued under the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus, a mechanism designed to reduce risk for lenders financing projects in EU partner countries including Egypt.

Both wind farms have signed 25-year power purchase agreements with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, the state-owned utility that will buy their output under long-term, fixed-price contracts. Commercial operations at both sites are expected to begin in late 2028.

Once operational, the two farms are projected to generate more than 2.3 terawatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to supply around 1.2 million households, according to Alcazar. The company said the projects would avoid close to 1.1 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions annually compared with conventional generation, and create about 45 direct operational jobs once running.

Siemens Gamesa will supply the wind turbines for both farms and provide operations and maintenance services after they are built. Orascom Construction has been contracted as the balance-of-plant contractor, handling the civil and electrical works and supporting infrastructure around the turbines. Alcazar said it has issued a notice to proceed to Siemens Gamesa for both projects, clearing the way for construction to begin, though it did not specify a start date.

Daniel Calderon, Alcazar's co-founder and managing partner, said the electricity generated by the two wind farms would cost about three U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour, a price he said was well below the cost of gas-fired power generation.

Egypt has set a target of generating 45% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2028, as part of efforts to diversify its power generation mix. The Niat and Rasgha financing adds to a series of debt packages that the EBRD, the EIB and DEG have extended to wind and solar developers in Egypt in recent years, as international lenders continue to back the country's renewable energy buildout.

Alcazar is also pursuing a separate $420 million transaction to finance and manage the state-owned 580-megawatt Gabal El Zeit wind complex. Agreements for that project were signed in July 2026, though the transaction has not yet reached financial close; Calderon said he expects that milestone by the end of 2026. Alcazar said its three Egyptian wind investments together represent more than $1 billion in combined debt and equity.

Alcazar Energy Partners was founded in 2014. Its first investment vehicle mobilized about $750 million, and its second fund closed with $490 million in commitments in May 2024.