Wind Power in MEA Region

The rising energy demand coupled with environmental precedence has set out a roadmap for a cleaner, more sustainable electricity generation.

During the UN climate change conference COP28 in the UAE, nations committed to tripling renewable capacity by 2030, with wind installations to reach 320 GW annually.

The worldwide wind power market grew to a capacity of 1,136 GW with 117 GW of new wind capacity added in 2024, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). China led the global wind market in 2024, contributing 70% of new capacity. The onshore wind capacity in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) doubled in 2024 compared to previous years; Egypt and Saudi Arabia have emerged as top markets.

Experts see wind power as a potentially substantial resource in the MEA region, which has some of the best areas with high wind speeds and consistent availability. It is expected to register a CAGR of 12.39% during the forecast period, 2025-2030.

Saudi Arabia has tendered 57.5 GW of renewable energy projects since the launch of its National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) in 2017. These projects are central to Vision 2030’s goal of diversifying the energy mix, exploiting the Kingdom’s solar and wind resources, and cutting dependence on liquid fuels for electricity production. The goal outlines renewables to comprise 50% of output by 2030, which is about 130 GW, with about 60% of new capacity coming from solar and 40% from wind.

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth vehicle the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Saudi utility developer Acwa Power are preparing to develop 3 GW of wind farm projects in Saudi Arabia as part of the 2025 round of the NREP.

The 400 MW Dumat Al-Jandal wind farm is the first utility-scale wind power project in Saudi Arabia and one of the biggest wind farms in the Middle East. The project is a joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, the UAE’s Masdar and France’s EDF.

In 2024 round of the NREP, the 600 MW Al-Ghat and 500MW Waad Al-Shamal wind IPPs were awarded to a consortium led by Japanese utility developer Marubeni Corporation. The consortium has also won the 700 MW wind farm on the Red Sea coast of Yanbu in the same round of NREP.

Egypt is on course to rejuvenate wind power development with a number of gigawatt-scale projects announcements been made by the government.

The 10 GW onshore wind farms planned by Masdar is one of the world's largest onshore wind projects in Egypt. It would produce 47,790 GWh of clean energy annually and offset 23.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to around 9% of Egypt's current CO2 emissions.

The country has recently brought online a major wind energy project by Toyota Tsusho and Eurus Energy, involving an expansion of the Gulf of Suez wind farm to 654 MW, while ACWA Power's 1.1 GW Suez Wind Energy project is under construction with commercial operations expected by 2027.

When completed, these projects would be part of Egypt's Green Corridor initiative, a grid dedicated to renewable energy projects that is aimed at ensuring renewable energy makes up 42% of the country's energy mix by 2035, at which point wind power is expected to account for 17% of total installed generation capacity.

Other countries in the region are also taking significant steps to harness wind energy as an effective and promising option for electricity generation.

Editor