EDF Renewables and the Elsewedy Electric Group have commissioned two solar farms in Egypt with a combined capacity of 130MW. The 65MW-each plants in Benban have a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company. They form part of the Benban solar complex, which will eventually have capacity totalling close to 1.8GW. Both projects were developed as part of the second phase of the national electricity feed-in tariff programme launched by the Egyptian government. They received funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Proparco. EDF Renewables chief executive Bruno Bensasson said: “We are proud to be playing our part in delivering the large-scale Benban solar complex by commissioning these two solar power plants. “With the establishment of our new subsidiary in Cairo, we have reached a major milestone in EDF Renewables’ long-term development in Egypt and across the North African renewable energy market as a whole.”
The renewables division of EDF and the Elsewedy Electric Group have commissioned 130 MW of solar power at two plants in Egypt, built as part of the Benban project, forecast to have a final capacity of almost 1.8 GW. Both firms received backing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Proparco development finance organisation. The plants have a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, details of which have not been disclosed, and form part of the second phase of the Egyptian government’s national electricity feed-in tariff scheme.