Cairo – Mubasher: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Thursday announced taking “a major step forward” by approving a $500 million framework to finance renewable energy projects in Egypt.
Approved by the EBRD board on 7 June, the loan will support “the development of private renewable energy projects under the Egyptian government's feed-in-tariff programme. [which] aims to stimulate private investment in over 4 GW of wind and solar power,” EBRD said in a statement published on its official website.
The EBRD also gave its approval for 13 projects under the $500 million framework, while three more are set to be discussed by the board later this month.
“These 16 plants will deliver 750 MW of solar photovoltaic capacity and are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 900,000 tonnes a year,” the EBRD revealed, noting that all the plants will be established at one large site near the village of Benban in Upper Egypt, bringing “significant investment to this region.”
The European bank also said that these project will be the first private utility-scale renewable projects in a sector that is mostly dominated by the use of hydrocarbons.
Commenting on the loan, EBRD head of power and energy Harry Boyd-Carpenter said that this was “a major milestone” of the bank’s support for renewable energy in Egypt.
Since 2014, the EBRD has been actively with the Egyptian authorities to help fulfil the government’s ambitious goals in this area, the top official said, highlighting that construction works for the new projects is set to begin before the end of 2017.
“This progress is really a tribute to the Egyptian government’s sustained commitment to making the best use of their abundant solar and wind resources to move to a more diverse and sustainable energy sector,” he added.
Over 50% of Aswan’s population is currently below the poverty line, and EBRD’s solar projects located near Benban “will bring a significant short-term boost” to the region’s economy.
The boost will be seen “through the construction activities and will provide ongoing benefits through the transfer of skills and through long-term jobs in operation and maintenance,” EBRD added in its statement.
