Cairo - Mubasher: Acwa Power has finalized agreements to establish three photovoltaic (PV) projects in the biggest solar power complex in Aswan, Egypt.
The $190 million projects will have a capacity of 165.5 Mega Watt peak (MWP).
“Our first projects in Egypt have not only achieved financial close but are three photovoltaic power plants supporting the Egyptian government in its pursuit of securing 20% of renewable energy in the power generation mix by year 2022,” Paddy Padmanathan, the president and CEO of the Saudi Company said in a statement on Monday.
According to the Acwa, 75% of the project’s financing will be developed through a non-recourse project debt secured from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The latter tranche is with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and covers the remaining 25% of the cost financed with equity capital.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has recently made the biggest single commitment in its history to renewable energy in one country to finance projects in Egypt.
The bank’s board approved to commit up to $500 million, after the EBRD and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) teamed up to provide a major contribution to renewable energy projects in Egypt.
The GCF is making a contribution of nearly $155 million, with additional financing from sponsors and other co-financiers bringing the total investment in new private renewable energy generation in Egypt to $1 billion.
In an interview with Mubasher in October 2017, the director of power and energy utilities at EBRD, Harry Boyd-Carpenter indicated that around $380 million will be provided for financing current projects in Egypt, especially the Benban solar complex in Aswan.
