Egypt

The two countries have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop a new subsea electricity line connecting their power systems. The power link, if built, could provide a route for African solar energy to reach European markets.

Norwegian renewables specialist Scatec has revealed plans to collaborate with Fertiglobe and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt on the development of a green hydrogen plant in Egypt with an electrolyzer ranging from 50 MW to 100 MW.

With pressure mounting on the world’s governments to turn their back on the fossil fuel, China and peers in South East Asia, Europe and South Asia could help deliver a coal-free future at the COP26 climate summit planned in Glasgow in November.

Italian energy company Eni is partnering with local companies in Algeria and Egypt to explore the possibility of producing green and blue hydrogen in the North African countries. The United Arab Emirates is also collaborating with Japanese partners to develop the country’s hydrogen sector, while in New York, hydrogen has arrived in Long Island.

German developer Juwi plans to have a 36 MW off-grid solar plant and 7.5 MW of battery storage operational at the Sukari mine during the second quarter of next year.

The $18bn worth of sustainable finance instruments floated in the nation last year marked a retreat from previous highs but, with most of the bonds issued from July onwards, the recovery is under way, according to the IFC, which is anticipating a more-than-$100 billion sector in emerging markets over the next three years.

The oft-heard industry call for more supportive policy for renewables, this time in Africa, has prompted the European Commission to pledge to work with its continental counterpart on improving the clean energy regulatory environment.

Saudi power company ACWA Power today revealed it has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company and said development was on track for generation to start before October next year.

A British-Egyptian research group has tested the use of hydrogels beads for PV module cooling. The micro-sized particles were saturated with aluminium oxide (Al2O3) water-based nanofluids and placed below the simulated PV panels. The experiment showed, according to the scientists, that the hydrogels beads were able to significantly reduce the temperature by between 17.9 and 16.3 degrees Celsius.

The $156.4 million Kom Ombo photovoltaic solar power plant is being developed by Saudi energy giant ACWA Power.