Saudi Arabian energy company ACWA Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Government of Egypt on Wednesday develop, finance, construct and operate the 200MW Kom Ombo photovoltaic plant in Egypt.
The deal was signed by Rajit Nanda, ACWA chief investment officer, and Sabah Mashaly, chairman of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company. Delegates from ACWA Power and the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy were present.
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The 200MW project in Egypt’s West Nile province will be one of Egypt’s largest solar parks, not far from the Benban solar complex. Construction is expected to start in 2021.
Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy wants to increase the overall capacity of renewable energy to 20 per cent by the year 2020.
Egyptian energy and electricity minister Dr. Mohamed Shaker said that the government was “keen to leverage renewable energy sources through transparent competitive procurement, which will cater to the country’s current clean energy needs while simultaneously safeguarding our future.”
He added that “the lowest tariff contracted to date for a solar energy in North Africa is not only a reflection of continuing improvement in technology and the entrepreneurship of the developer ACWA Power, but also of the attractiveness of Egypt as an investment destination and the trade and commercial environment of Egypt to enable facilities of this nature to be financed, constructed and operated efficiently.”
ACWA made headlines recently after it successfully bid $0.0169/kWh for 250MW of PV capacity in Dubai – the second-lowest ever bid for PV, second only to Akuo Energy’s bid of €0.0147/kWh ($0.016) in Portugal’s first solar capacity auction over the summer.
