ACWA Power, a leading Saudi Arabian developer, investor and operator of power generation, water desalination and green hydrogen plants worldwide, has secured a $123m financing package to develop the 200 MW Kom Ombo project in Egypt. The plant is a utility-scale solar power facility which will be located less than 20 km from Africa's biggest solar park, the 1465 MW Benban complex, also a project by ACWA Power. The financing institutions for the Kom Ombo project include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), OPEC Fund for International Development, the African Development Bank (AfDB), AfDB's Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, Green Climate Fund (GCF), Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation and Arab Bank.
According to Marco Arcelli, CEO of ACWA Power, “ACWA Power's successful acquisition of financing support for our renewable project is a significant milestone. We're fully committed to fast-tracking the project's development while staying true to Egypt's renewable energy targets”. Once fully operational, the new plant will serve 130,000 households.
Private-sector participation in the Kom Ombo project is the result of successful policy dialogue with the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, as well as a $3.6m technical assistance programme, co-funded by the EBRD and the GCF. This programme is designed to support the EETC in administering competitive renewable energy tenders. In addition, the project has also benefitted from broader energy-sector reforms supported by the AfDB in recent years to scale up the involvement of the private sector.
The Kom Ombo plant will contribute to the Egyptian government's target to generate 42% of the country's electricity from renewable energy sources by 2035 while delivering one of the lowest generation tariffs in Africa. Kevin Kariuki, The African Development Bank's Vice President in charge of Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth said: “We are delighted to reach this important milestone and deepen our partnership with ACWA Power as we promote renewable energy in Egypt, and indeed in Africa. Expanding clean energy generation is central to low-carbon development on the continent and contributes to further reducing carbon emissions and achieving of the goals of Paris Agreement”.
The financing package also highlights the shared vision and purpose of various global financing institutions in achieving the Republic's targets, which would not be possible without the trust and support of the government, the Egyptian people and communities, as per the words of Marco Arcelli.
