Egypt inks deal for 6 solar plants

Scatec Solar and partners have signed 25-year power purchase agreements with the Egyptian government for delivery of 400 megawatt (MW) electricity from six solar plants, according to a statement.

Total investments for the plants are estimated at $450 million, with expectations to generate annual revenues of about $60 million over the 25-year contract period.

The electricity produced from the plants is expected to replace about 350,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year, supporting Egypt’s emission reduction targets under the Paris climate agreement.

Located in Ben Ban area near Aswan in Upper Egypt, the solar plants are expected to generate about 870 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of solar electricity per year.

These projects are part of the 2 GW solar FiT programme launched by the Egyptian Government in 2015.

Scatec Solar will build, own and operate all six projects, and the company’s share of equity investments will be in the range of $50-70 million.

“Scatec Solar is partnering with local developers and with KLP Norfund Investments for equity investments in the projects and may add additional partners to an equity consortium before financial close,” the statement highlighted.