Egypt to shine with a new $3.5 BIL solar plant!

A global consortium of engineering and renewables industry giants kicked off a project to build a suite of solar power generating plants in Egypt to produce 2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity and valued at USD $3.5 billion. Terra Solar announced their plan on Friday, adding that they will also build a 200 MW PV module and inverter manufacturing facility to create components for use in the consortium’s own solar plants and for exportation.

Terra Sola combines the corporate muscle of Bahrain-based Terra Sola Ventures, Swiss wealth management company Terra Nex, RWE New Energy, Hareon Solar Technologies, and a number of German tech companies including LTi ReEnergy. Terra Nex will manage project financing, largely through German investors. Hareon will supply the solar modules, and RWE will operate and maintain the plants.

Last year, Terra Sola signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with state-run Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) to develop a solar project then described simply as “large-scale”.

This week’s announcement was coincidental with a state visit by the German deputy Chancellor, during which time the consortium’s Board of Directors visited Luxor and Aswan governorates to check prospective locations for three of the plants. Terra Sola has set up an Egyptian office to better coordinate with government entities, and to serve as project headquarters.

In a statement, Board Member Peter Göpfrich said that Egypt is one of Africa and the Middle East’s most active and growing markets.  Terra Sola view the project as an integral step in their strategy to expand their global presence, but he emphasized that the USD $3.5 billion project will also benefit Egypt by creating more than 50,000 direct and indirect new jobs. When pressed for details, he clarified that construction of the manufacturing facility alone will provide more than 1,500 job opportunities,  and another 1,000 permanent positions are required to support its operational phase.

No details were provided as to overall project timeline, or targeted commissioning dates.