African Development Bank lends $27.2 million for 200 MW solar park in Egypt

From pv magazine France

The board of directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a loan of $ 27.2 million for the design, construction and operation of a 200 MW solar photovoltaic plant in Kom Ombo, in southern Egypt.

The $156.4 million project is being developed by Saudi energy giant ACWA Power, which won the related tender in October 2019. The company submitted the lowest final electricity price offer of $0.02752/kWh.

In addition to the AfDB’s financing, structured in the form of a senior loan, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Arab Bank and the OPEC Fund for International Development will contribute to the funding.

“We are delighted to support this project which will offer one of the lowest generation tariffs on the continent,” said Kevin Kariuki, AfDB vice president for power, energy, climate and green growth. “The project supports Egypt’s energy transition and contributes to achieving its ambition of 20% renewable energy by 2022.”

Construction of the project is expected to create some 800 jobs. The electricity produced by the Kom Ombo solar photovoltaic power plant will be sold to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The plant will be located in vacant arid land 60 kilometers north of the city of Aswan, adjacent to a 26 MW PV plant developed by the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and also approximately 17 kilometers north of the 1.8 GW Benban solar complex, where ACWA Power has already developed 120 MW of solar.