Renewable

Aug 8 (Renewables Now) - Saudi company ACWA Power today announced it has signed the power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 165.5 MWp of solar projects in Benban that it won in Round 2 of Egypt's feed-in tariff (FiT) programme.

Financial close and construction start are expected in the current year, the firm said. The combined investment is estimated at around USD 190 million (EUR 161m), with ACWA developing, financing, building, owning and operating the projects in partnership with local companies Tawakol and Hassan Allam Holding. The PPAs have been struck with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC).

The three solar power plants, of 70 MWp, 67.5 MWp and 28 MWp, are planned to start power generation in 2018. Together they will produce enough power annually for 80,000 homes, avoiding 156,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year, according to the developers' estimates.

Egypt and the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy (MoERE) have set a 20% renewable power target by 2022. The FiT programme aims to support that goal. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in June said it has given the green light to a USD-500-million framework to finance solar projects in the proposed 1.8-GW Benban solar complex in Aswan, while the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in July approved a USD-635-million investment in Benban solar projects.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.85)