'Africa's cheapest green power' as China's Envision and JA picked for gigascale Egypt wind and solar

IFC and commercial banks help finance developer AMEA Power to build 500MW plants that will generate 'at some of least expensive rates globally'

More than a gigawatt of wind and solar set for construction in Egypt will produce Africa’s cheapest green power, said the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as it helped to close a $1.1bn financing package for the plants.

UAE-based developer AMEA Power will build and run the 560MW Abydos PV facility and 505MW Amunet Wind project – the latter in a partnership with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, which will own 40% of the wind farm.

AMEA Power told Recharge it will use China's Envision Energy as its turbine supplier for the wind project while another Chinese player JA Solar will equip the PV plant.

IFC said the 4,000GWh of power generated by the two plants will bring green electricity to a million Egyptians. “Power from the solar park and the wind farm will be priced at two US cents/kWh and three US cents/kWh, respectively, which are the lowest rates in Africa and among the least expensive rates globally,” added the IFC, which joined lenders from the UAE, Japan and Netherlands and private sector banks in backing the projects.

Construction of both is due to begin this month, with the solar plant expected to take 18 months and the wind farm two and a half years. The plants have power purchase agreements in place with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC).

Egypt – which has just hosted the COP27 UN climate summit – wants to get 42% of its power from renewables by 2035.

The Abydos solar plant will be sited near Kom Ombo in Aswan and the wind farm in the Gulf of Suez.

“These projects highlight the private sector’s essential role helping to deliver clean, affordable power, especially at a time of growing challenges from climate change and pressures on the environment,” said Cheick-Oumar Sylla, IFC regional director for North Africa and Horn of Africa.

Dubai-based AMEA Power has already unveiled plans for a 1GW green hydrogen facility in Egypt and has a 6GW pipeline across 15 countries.