ACWA Power – a leading international developer and operator of power generation and water desalination facilities from Saudi Arabia – signs a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with tEgypt to develop, finance, construct and operate the Kom Ombo photovoltaic plant, which will yield a capacity of 200 MW.
The signing took place under the patronage of. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt; Osama Naqli, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at Egypt; and Mohamed Shaker, Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy
The PPA was signed by Rajit Nanda, Chief Investment Officer at ACWA Power, and Eng. Sabah Mashaly, Chairman of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, in the presence of senior executives from ACWA Power and delegates from the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy.
Construction is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2021. Once operational, the plant will cater to the power needs of 130 thousand households, in addition to offsetting 280 thousand tons of carbon dioxide per year
Commenting on the occasion, Dr. Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy in Egypt, said: “the signing of today’s project is a crucial building block that contributes to the Egyptian government’s vision – which aims to upscale sustainable energy security by moulding a balanced energy mix”.
“In reflection of HH Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the overall government ambitious vision, we are 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”
“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”, Dr. Shaker added.
“The Egyptian government has long recognised renewable energy as a safe and secure source of power to reliably provide electricity to its citizens while advancing their efforts in reducing carbon emissions. The Kom Ombo project that we are embarking upon today is a very strong testament to ACWA Power’s commitment to contribute in this mission.”, Paddy Padmanathan, President and CEO of ACWA Power, said.
Padmanathan added: “ACWA Power works alongside its partners to deploy the most up-to-date technologies and leverage sound investment opportunities to keep reducing the cost of generating renewable energy, which is one of the key pillars in driving sustainable economic development of a country.
As a Saudi company, we are particularly proud of this partnership with our brothers and neighbors that will accelerate the deployment of clean energy, and contribute to the social and economic development of the Arab Republic of Egypt. This investment will not only generate 200 megawatts of solar energy, but also power the creation of jobs by propagating a green economy and nurturing a vibrant society.”
Elaborating on the PPA signing, Rajit Nanda, Chief Investment Officer at ACWA Power, said: “We commenced our operations in Egypt through the launch of the Benban PV IPP project, and we are currently in discussions with the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity to finalise agreements for the 2250 MW Dairut CCGT, with an investment value of 2.3 billion U.S. dollars.
Today, through the deployment of the Kom Ombo Plant, we are further branching our commendable trail in Egypt. Moreover, this clean energy project embodies the extension of our investments in the renewable sector in the continent, particularly in the North African region, which is witnessing a rapid growth in renewable energy projects.”
The construction and development of new PV plants in Egypt bolsters the efforts of the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy to increase the overall capacity of renewable energy to 20% by the year 2020.
In addition, Hassan Amin, Country Development Director of ACWA Power Egypt, expressed his delight to sign the agreement, pointing that the new project in Kom Ombo is not the first for ACWA Power in Egypt as there are three projects have been successfully completed and the company has other investments in conventional energy in Luxor amounting to $ 2.5 billion.
Amin added that the agreement is based on the use of “Bifacial” technology through which solar cells are manufactured to allow the absorption of light on both sides, to achieve greater efficiency and improve the performance of cells in the winter, while committing to buy the same amount of energy from the technology provided by the basic offer of using the “Mono facial” technology.
