Egypt’s pipeline of clean energy projects keeps generating headlines: On Sept. 29, news surfaced that local renewables developer Infinity Power was looking to close a deal to develop a 1.2 gigawatt solar farm with battery storage in the North African country, a project with an estimated $1 billion price tag. 

The past three years have featured many similar announcements, including numerous renewables project pledges that emerged when Egypt hosted COP27 in 2022. The UN climate conference, held at Sharm El-Sheikh, was a showcase of the country’s ambitions to leverage abundant sun and wind resources to become a green power hub.

However, despite lofty goals, progress scaling up renewables has lagged targets — and right when new power solutions have been needed most. Since 2023, the Arab world’s most populous nation has faced a growing electricity crisis amid surging demand and slumping natural gas output, leading to blackouts during scorching summers. 

That deficit has forced Egypt to resort to costly fuel imports while still recovering from a severe economic crisis that triggered a financial bailout from global backers in 2023. Simultaneously, the power crunch also exposed the limited role of renewables in Egypt’s energy mix.