Italy?s Building Energy has signed an MoU with Egypt?s New and Renewable Energy (NREA) to develop two 50MW PV plants in Upper Egypt
This is the Italian company?s first project in Egypt, and is the start of an expansion strategy in the MENA region, said the company managing director for MENA Cornelius Matthes.
The two solar plants worth US$200mn will be connected to a 220 kV high-voltage line linking Asswan to Cairo and generate 143 GWh per year. It will supply power to more than 50,000 families through a 25-year power purchasing agreement (PPA). The project, which will come up in Benben, is expected to cut down CO2 emisisons by 100,000 tonnes, create more than 1,000 new jobs during construction and another 70 to 80 long-term jobs during operation, said project officials.
Egypt?s minister for electricity and renewable energy Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi said, ?We are delighted to see substantial interest by reputable international developers in partnership with local companies investing in the Egyptian market for renewable energy under the lately-announced legislations and FIT Program. Apart from helping to boost electricity generation and economic development, many new jobs will be created.?
According to NREA executive chairman Mohamed El Sobky, public land in Egypt is being allocated to clean energy projects, in an attempt to deploy two gigawatts of solar energy under the FIT Program.
