A $650 million solar power plant will be built in Egypt

Egypt is planning to build a new $650 million solar power plant. Norway's Scatec and three international development banks are working on the project.

The plant, known as Dandara, will be built in the southern part of the country, in the city of Naga Hammadi in Qena province.

The total capacity of the solar panels will be 1 gigawatt. The project also includes 200 megawatt-hours of batteries, which will ensure storage of the generated electricity.

Construction will be carried out in two phases. At each phase, 500 megawatts of solar panel capacity and 100 megawatt-hours of batteries will be added.

The project will be financed by the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the African Development Bank. The National Bank of Egypt will also acquire a stake in the project company.

Egypt is accelerating renewable energy projects in order to reduce spending on natural gas imports and increase the share of different sources in electricity production. The country's goal is to increase the share of renewable energy in electricity production to 42% by 2030.

Source: Reuters