- Amea Power has announced the increase in the capacity of the proposed Kom Ombo solar PV power plant from 200MWp to 500MWp.
- The project capacity has been increased at the behest of the Egyptian government.
- It is yet to be seen if the increase will affect project completion time that was initially scheduled for Q1 2021.
- Financing for this project is being led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), who provided $54 million in October.
The capacity of the planned Kom Ombo solar PV power plant in Aswan Governorate, Egypt is to be increased by 300 MWp. The solar plant which is being developed by the UAE based Amea Power was initially planned as a 200MWp facility. However, upon request from the Egyptian government, the developer has agreed to increase the capacity to bring the total energy that will be generated by the plant to 500MWp.
The power plant will be constructed by the India based engineering company, Sterling and Wilson. The facility will comprise of double-sided solar panels to enable sunlight capturing on both sides of the solar modules. The power generated will be sold under a 20-year PPA agreement to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) at a tariff of $0.02752 per kWh.
The increased capacity has raised some questions regarding the completion time for the projects as well as the environmental impacts of a larger solar farm in the area. Under the initial 200MWp plan, Amea Power announced that the project would be completed by Q1 2021. However, the developer has not confirmed if this delivery time will be maintained or rescheduled.
The 500MWp is expected to provide about 130,000 households clean energy and reduce carbon emissions by as much as 280,000 tonnes. The plant also puts Egypt a step closer towards its 2035 clean energy targets of generation 40% of its electricity from renewable sources.
The project is being financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).