Energy Section

As one of Denmark’s green front line embassies, the Energy Section in Egypt works to strengthen the climate and renewable energy partnership between Denmark and Egypt. The cooperation spans over more than four decades, with the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) launching the Danish Climate cooperation in Egypt in the 1980s. In 2019, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a new foreign strategy with a strong focus on climate diplomacy and green foreign policy.

the history of danish-egyptian energy cooperation

Climate partnership between Denmark and Egypt goes back to the 1980s, when DANIDA began working in Egypt. In cooperation with the Risø National Laboratory at the Technical University of Denmark, Egypt developed its first Wind Atlas in the 1990s, which is still in use today. A wind atlas is developed when scoping out wind energy potential and contains data on the wind speed and wind direction in a region. The Danish Sustainable Infrastructure Fund was one of the major contributors to the financing and development of the Zafarana wind farm in the 2000s. This onshore wind farm is still in use today and is one of the largest wind power plants in Egypt. The energy cooperation between the two countries resumed in 2019 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Danish Energy Agency and the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation.

strategic sector energy cooperation

The Danish-Egyptian Strategic Sector Cooperation is a government to government program between the Danish Energy Agency and the Egyptian Energy Authorities. There is an interest among the Egyptian Energy authorities to gain insight into the Danish experience with integration of renewable energy, specifically wind energy, into the power system. By combining the Danish Energy Agency’s knowledge in planning and regulation of the power sector with the Danish transmission system operator Energinet’s expertise in operating and planning for a renewable energy based power system, there is a solid basis for transfer of knowledge and experience that will benefit Egypt on its green transition journey. The cooperation focuses on long-term energy planning, wind project development, and the integration of renewable energy in the power grid, including the liberalization of the power market. The Egyptian partners include the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC), the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), the New and Renewable Energy Agency (NREA), and the Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (EgyptERA).

capacity building through danida fellowship centre courses

A priority of the Strategic Sector Cooperation is capacity building. This is done through fellowships from the DANIDA Fellowship Centre. These fellowships allow for Egyptian officials to attend courses in Denmark where they learn about specific areas related to the green transition and also issues related to governance and management. The energy section facilitates the application process between the Egyptian entities and the DFC, located in Denmark. Since 1993, 248 Egyptians have completed a fellowship for a DFC course.

greening the embassy

The embassy is proving its strong commitment to sustainability. This includes waste sorting and recycling and the long term objective of sourcing renewable energy for the office. The embassy has also just purchased an electric scooter for minor errands which were previously done by an armoured car.

The Embassy also promotes and encourages sustainability initiatives amongst its counterparts and the international organizations of which it is a part of.

To keep up with the work of the Energy section and the Embassy’s sustainability initiatives, follow us on social media. For more information, please contact our Energy team located in Cairo.

contact information

Kristian Mehl

Energy Sector Counsellor

[email protected]

+20 127 8694060

Mohamed Farouk Radwan

Senior Program Advisor