Lekela EG Wind 1

active

 May 2019 update: This ESRS has been updated since the original public disclosure in October 2018, in order to reflect a change in EPC contractor and an associated change in the number and capacity of turbines. The changes are mainly reflected in the project description and PS 1 sections below. Additional assessments have shown that these changes will have no material effect on the predicted project impacts on people, birds or other receptors. A supplemental ESIA study focused on the proposed new turbine layout is attached, along with an updated Non-Technical Summary (NTS) and the finalized Cumulative Effects Assessment (which was due for completion end December 2018 per the ESAP). IFC is considering an A loan of c. US$ 25 million and mobilization provided under IFC’s Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program of c. US$ 57 million to Lekela Egypt Wind (the Company), a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Egypt, and currently owned by Lekela Power BV.  The Lekela Build Own Operate (BOO) Wind Project (the Project) consists of the construction, operation and maintenance of a 250 MW wind farm in the Eastern Desert, close to the Red Sea coast and around 28 km north of the town of Ras Gharib in Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate. The project site is located within a broader 328 km2 area previously set aside by the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) for the purposes of generating electricity from wind. The anticipated annual average power production from the project will be c. 1120 GWh. The project will be an independent power producer, selling the power generated by the project to the Egyptian Electricity Supply Company (EETC) under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Financial close is expected in the first or second quarter of 2019 and construction is currently expected to last for 24 months. The project consists of 96 Siemens-Gamesa 2.6 MW turbines with a tower hub height of 63 m and rotor diameter of 120 m, a substation and a network of site access roads. Turbine supplier Siemens-Gamesa will be the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor and will thereafter operate the plant and take responsibility for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) on the equipment. The Sponsors are expected to provide the Balance of Plant O&M works. EETC will be constructing two contiguous high-voltage transmission lines (TLs) to connect this project and other future projects in the vicinity to the national grid. One section comprises a 500 kV TL running east-west roughly parallel to the Ras Gharib – Minya road with an approximate length of 15 km (38 towers). EETC has provided written confirmation that the design and routing of this higher voltage section is being built to allow the utility to connect up to 500 MW of additional planned power plants to the grid (a total of 750 MW together with the project) expected to go on line by 2025. As such, it has not been determined to be an Associated Facility per IFC Performance Standard (PS) 1 definition. The other section comprises a 220 kV TL running north-south roughly parallel to the existing Ras Gharib – Zaafarana highway, also with an approximate length of 15 km (42 towers). This section is being constructed primarily for the purposes of linking the Lekela Wind Power project to the grid; as such, it has been determined to be an Associated Facility per PS 1. The TLs will be built on uninhabited state-owned desert land and no land acquisition is necessary to build them. It is estimated that the project will require around 300 workers during the anticipated 24-month construction phase. No workers camp is currently envisaged, with workers being either sourced locally or accommodated in hotels and guest houses in Ras Gharib, to the south, though a final decision on whether site-based accommodation is needed has not been taken yet. Ten staff will be employed on site during the operations phase. The project site land is and will remain under the ownership of the Government of Egypt (GoE). The area has been designated for petroleum exploration activities (subsurface) and wind development (above ground). The project site comprises uninhabited flat, stony desert terrain around 2 km from the Red Sea. Due to its proximity to the Gulf of Suez and to Egypt’s main oil and gas producing areas, the Gulf of Suez is considered to be of strategic national importance. Movement of people in the area (both onshore and offshore, and especially foreigners) is restricted and there is a sizable local police, military and national intelligence presence which monitors population movements.  The nearest residential area is Ras Gharib, 28 km to the south. In addition there are two smaller communities to the south, namely Ras Shoqeir (approximately 60 km away) and Wadi Dara (approximately 72 km away). El Zaafarana village and tourism area is located 65 km north of the site. There is no human habitation, grazing or agriculture on, or adjacent to, the site. The area falls under the indirect authority of the Tababna Bedouin tribe, one of four such tribes resident along the coastline which have links to land and resources that are informally recognized by the Government. No Bedouin reside near the project site, nor do Bedouin use the project site for hunting, fishing, grazing or any other livelihood-related purposes. Some members of the Tababna tribe have been engaged to provide site security services to the project, based on a recommendation from the relevant state security agency.  The northernmost boundary of the Gebel El Zeit Important Bird and Biodiversity Area and Key Biodiversity Area (hereafter referred to as the Gebel El Zeit IBA) is located 12 km south of the project site. This IBA comprises a stretch of Gulf of Suez coastline regarded to be a very important migration corridor for migratory soaring birds, particularly raptors and storks. The closest operational wind farms are located in a cluster near Gebel El Zeit more than 60 km south of the site. This cluster comprises a series of contiguous sites developed by NREA with support from the Spanish Government (120 MW), the German Government (240 MW) and Japanese support (220 MW). The closest operational wind farm to the north is the 580 MW Zafarana wind farm, near Ain El Sokhna port, a similar distance (over 60 km) north of the site. The closest approved wind farm site is the 250 MW Engie BOO Wind Power Project, located c. 40km south of the project, which is under construction and expected to be commissioned in Q4 2019. Several other wind power projects are planned in the vicinity.