To conclude the economic evaluation for the three technologies, it is clear that the wind energy is the leading and the commercial technology which reached to be a competitive energy source with the other traditional resources.
The market investment cost of the wind energy become about USD 1.45 to USD 2.6 million/MW (EUR 1 to EUR 1.9 million), and the production cost range from a low of USD 70 (EUR 50)/MWh, under the best circumstances, to a high of USD 130 (EUR 90), the expected production cost for the electricity generated in Egypt is to be 72Euro/MWh without the CDM subsidize, and so the selling tariff will be about at least 8 cent Euro /KWh (65 PT)
For the CSP technology the market cost is more expensive than the wind energy and expected to be decreased with the next few years, it reached to be about USD 4200/KW to USD 8400/KW (Euro 525 to 1050)/ KW, and the generating costs range from USD 200/MWh to USD 295/MWh (Euro 25 to 37)/ MWh, the expected investment cost for the CSP plants in Egypt is to be about 933 EGP (124 Euro), when the required or expected FIT will be about 2.12EGP/KWh
For the PV technology and according to the German projects at the year 2010, the estimation is about 2,740 Euros/KW; the production cost was about from USD 240 /MWh to USD 480 /MWh (Euro 30 to 60)/MWh, and the expected investment cost for the Egyptian market is 2,460 Euro/KWh and The expected economic levelized unit costs amounted to 1,242 TEGP/MWh, the lowest project feed-in tariff requirement of 1.60 EGP/kWh (0.20 EUR/kWh) and payback period of 7 years
4.8.2 General economic impacts
The expected wind projects during the wind park construction and operation would have many economic benefits.
About 30 to 40 % of the investment volume would be produced locally.
During construction there will be an employment opportunities, local personnel would be employed for civil, electrical and installation works. The works would be carried out essentially by Egyptian companies.
During the operation a significant number of electricians, mechanics, engineers and workers would be employed for O&M of the wind park.
At steadily increasing oil prices wind power utilization, especially at a site with very high wind energy potential like the NREA area, is approaching competitiveness. It saves indigenous gas and oil reserves, which alternatively could be exported at world market prices.
For the CSP projects the expected impacts will be to offer Jobs:
- Direct Jobs, Temporary Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Permanent Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Administrative
- Indirect Jobs. Manufacturing, Hospitality & Services, Infrastructure, Ancillary Commerce
Private Investment: Plant and transmission facilities, ancillary businesses and infrastructure
Tax Base Increase: Real and personal property tax, sales tax, employment and income taxes
5 CHAPTER FIVE: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS EVALUATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
In this section an evaluation for environmental impacts of different renewable energy and specially the projects which will be in Egypt mainly wind and solar energy, the evaluation depends on the data collection from different web sites and papers.
The general view of the land location which used for the wind farms or solar power plants are desert land, it means that most of the environmental impacts are very low and in some regions neglected, it is far from the population, the agriculture regions and may be far from the bird migrations direction.
5.1 Introduction
The environmental problems is the result for the fossil and nuclear energy sources use, the energy use and supply is the most fundamental importance to society and life.
The most environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels including: Global climate change, acidification of ecosystems, risks from nuclear accidents, long term accumulation of radioactive waste, and effects on the public health from air pollution.
With the possible exception of agriculture and forestry, energy has made the greatest impact on the environment of any human activity - a result of the large scale and pervasive nature of energy related activities. Although the local effect of using energy on the environment such as problems associated with extraction, transport or noxious emissions - they have now widened to cover regional and global issues such as acid rain and the greenhouse effect. Such problems have now become major political issues and
emissions, renewable energy technologies must be rolled out quickly to provide emissions-free renewable electricity for industrialized and developing countries alike.
As renewable energy technologies rely on natural energy and material flow cycles, they can reduce the environmental impact of energy supply. Although for most of them the energy conversion process is emission free, environmental impacts result from the provision of raw materials and the manufacturing and disposal of components, [41].
Electricity consumption will be changed due to the Climate change which will alter energy demand patterns. Electricity consumption in the Mediterranean region will increase due to projected temperature increases and the associated increasing demand for space cooling. Energy demand for space heating in northern Europe will decrease, but the net effect across Europe is difficult to predict. Climate change will affect power production. Due to projected changes in river runoff, hydropower production will increase in northern Europe and decrease in the south. Furthermore, across Europe, summer droughts are projected to be more severe, limiting the availability of cooling water and thus reducing the efficiency of thermal power plants. Both types of impacts may lead to changes in emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases from energy, which are, however, difficult to estimate at present, [42].