Oslo, March 16, 2015: Scatec Solar reached an important milestone through the signature of an MoU with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), securing the company land to start the development of 50 MW solar photovoltaic power under the Government’s new Feed-In Tariff Scheme (FIT).
The signing of the document with NREA, represented by Chairman Mohamed Salah El-Sobki, took place this weekend at the occasion of the “Egypt for the Future” – summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, in the presence of Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Børge Brende and Dr Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi Minister of Electricity & Renewable Energy in the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Scatec Solar has incorporated “Scatec Egypt for Solar Energy SAE” with the purpose to develop, finance, build, own and operate the first 50 MW of solar power plant that the company has been awarded as part of the first phase of the Feed-in-Tariff program for solar and wind energy launched by the Government of Egypt.
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“Scatec Solar is impressed by the determination of the Government of Egypt to address the energy challenges by inviting experienced solar companies to rapidly build up large-scale solar PV capacity in the country. Together with our finance partners we target to develop, build, own and operate 150 – 200 MW of new solar power plants in Egypt over the next two-three years, investing more than USD 300 million” says Raymond Carlsen, CEO of Scatec Solar.
On the backdrop of a growing power deficit , the Government of Egypt invited proposals from foreign wind and solar developers for the construction of 2 x 2000 MW utility-scale solar and wind power respectively, as well as 300 MW of decentralized solar during the period 2015-2017. The Government aims for a rapid deployment, with the first phase of projects to start construction already in 2015. By 2022, the Government has set the very ambitious target of supplying 20 percent of installed capacity from renewables. This implies installation of 12 Gigawatt of new renewable capacity the next seven years, of which about half could be solar. The foreign investments required to build 6 GW of solar will be in the range of USD 9-10 billion in foreign investments, investments that again will lead to savings many times this amount in reduced cost of imported fossil fuels.
Scatec Solar has been present in Jordan since 2011 and in Egypt since 2013. In Jordan, Scatec Solar successfully raised USD 135 million to build three solar power plants with a combined capacity of 43 MW all to be grid connected later in 2015. In Egypt, in addition to the FiT program, Scatec is shortlisted to participate in the country’s tender program for 200 MW in Kom-Ombo.
“Solar has the potential to become a huge new source of power in Egypt,” says Raymond Carlsen, adding: “Experience shows that such a program also can become a much-needed boost to employment, skills development as well as industrial and social development in Egypt”
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Raymond Carlsen, CEO
tel + 47 454 11 280
Terje Osmundsen, SVP Strategic Business Development
tel + 47 909 23 696
About Scatec Solar
Scatec Solar is an integrated independent power producer, aiming to make solar a sustainable and affordable source of energy worldwide. Scatec Solar develops, builds, owns and operates solar power plants and delivers power from 220 MW in the Czech Republic, South Africa and Rwanda. The company is in strong growth and has 207 MW under construction in the US, Honduras and Jordan as well as a solid pipeline of projects under development in Africa, Middle East, Americas and Asia. Scatec Solar is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘SSO’.
For more on Scatec Solar, please visit www.scatec.com