08 August 2017
Acwa Power has announced that it has been awarded three solar power projects in Egypt with a total investment value of about $190 million.
The Saudi Arabian company said that it has signed power purchase agreements with the Egyptian government for the three plants under the second round of Egypt's Feed-in-Tarriff programme. The plants are based in Benban in the Aswan province and will have the capacity to generate 67.5 megwatt peaks (MWp), 70MWp and 28MWp respectively. A megawatt peak is the amount of power a solar plant is expected to generate at peak operating hours.
Following the signing of the agreement, Acwa Power said that it expects to begin construction in the final quarter of this year. These will be the first projects that the company has developed in Egypt, and it is working with Egyptian companies Tawakol and Hassan Allam Holding to deliver them.
Once they begin operations next year, the plants will be expected to provide enough power for 80,000 homes, saving around 156,000 tonnes of CO2 per year when compared with conventional sources.
Egypt has set a target of generating 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2022, and its Feed-In-Tarriff programme is targeting an initial generation of 2,000MW of solar and 2,000MW of wind capacity.
Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Dr. Mohamed Shaker, said: "Today the Egyptian government has taken another step toward sustainable and enduring energy security through working towards a balanced energy mix."
Rajit Nanda, chief investment officer of ACWA Power said that Acwa Power had worked on its first bid in Egypt in 2009 and subsequently set up its Egyptian subsidiary in 2015, at the same time as the Egypt Economic Development Conference took place in Sharm El Sheikh.
"The Benban projects are significant for being ACWA Power’s first investment in the country and we are confident that we will have many more opportunities to partner with the Ministry of Electricity in its pursuit of energy security,” he said.
© Zawya 2017
Acwa Power has announced that it has been awarded three solar power projects in Egypt with a total investment value of about $190 million.
The Saudi Arabian company said that it has signed power purchase agreements with the Egyptian government for the three plants under the second round of Egypt's Feed-in-Tarriff programme. The plants are based in Benban in the Aswan province and will have the capacity to generate 67.5 megwatt peaks (MWp), 70MWp and 28MWp respectively. A megawatt peak is the amount of power a solar plant is expected to generate at peak operating hours.
Following the signing of the agreement, Acwa Power said that it expects to begin construction in the final quarter of this year. These will be the first projects that the company has developed in Egypt, and it is working with Egyptian companies Tawakol and Hassan Allam Holding to deliver them.
Once they begin operations next year, the plants will be expected to provide enough power for 80,000 homes, saving around 156,000 tonnes of CO2 per year when compared with conventional sources.
Egypt has set a target of generating 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2022, and its Feed-In-Tarriff programme is targeting an initial generation of 2,000MW of solar and 2,000MW of wind capacity.
Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Dr. Mohamed Shaker, said: "Today the Egyptian government has taken another step toward sustainable and enduring energy security through working towards a balanced energy mix."
Rajit Nanda, chief investment officer of ACWA Power said that Acwa Power had worked on its first bid in Egypt in 2009 and subsequently set up its Egyptian subsidiary in 2015, at the same time as the Egypt Economic Development Conference took place in Sharm El Sheikh.
"The Benban projects are significant for being ACWA Power’s first investment in the country and we are confident that we will have many more opportunities to partner with the Ministry of Electricity in its pursuit of energy security,” he said.
© Zawya 2017
