Eren Renewable Energy, a global independent power producer, and its strategic partner Access Power have announced the financial close of two solar photovoltaic (PV) plants marking their official entry into the Egyptian renewable market.

The secured funding will be used to finance the construction of two solar PV plants with a total capacity of 126MWp, located in the Benban solar park in the Aswan province of Egypt.

The two projects have been awarded through Egypt’s Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) program, launched by the national Ministry of Electricity and the country’s New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA).

Construction of the plants is expected to start before the end of 2017. With each of the plants generating roughly 143 GWh per year, they will contribute to the reduction of more than 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

The plants are project financed through non-recourse debt provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Proparco, the private sector financing arm of the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement). EBRD and Proparco have together provided $111.6 million of senior debt for the power plants.

David Corchia, CEO of Eren RE, commented: “The magnitude of the Egyptian energy program and the paramount role of solar energy highlight the exemplarity of the Egyptian government and authorities who provided a sound framework for great-quality projects and private investments. We also thank the lenders of these projects, the EBRD and Proparco, whose role was critical to the successful completion of such large solar programs. We are honoured to set up in Egypt and will work hard to commission these two projects rapidly.”

Reda El Chaar, executive chairman of Access Power, said: “This is a significant and exciting moment for large scale solar projects in Egypt and Africa overall. These two projects will contribute to meeting the energy needs of the country while also enhancing the possibilities of additional large scale solar projects in the region, by providing a framework others can follow. The Benban project will transform the country’s energy sector and fulfil energy self-sufficiency.”

Benban is a $3.5 billion solar development complex, which is located in Aswan’s village of Benban, Egypt, consisting of 41 solar power plants with a total capacity of 1.8 GW. The project began in 2015 and construction will be completed by 2018.

Once the project is completed, the energy generated from the solar power plants will be directly connected to the national grid and then distributed across the country. Officials estimate the power generated by the complex to equal 90 per cent of the electricity generated by Egypt’s high dam. – TradeArabia News Service