Work is underway on a 1.1 GW solar project with 100 MW/200 MWh of accompanying battery energy storage in Egypt. The first phase of the project is scheduled for commercial operation during the first half of next year.
Norwegian renewables developer Scatec has broken ground on its 1.1 GW solar and 100 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage project in Egypt.
The project, billed as Egypt’s first hybrid solar and battery project, will be built in two phases. The first will see 561 MW of solar constructed alongside 100 MW/200 MWh of battery storage, with a targeted date for commercial operation in the first half of next year.
The second half of the project, comprising a further 564 MW of solar, is scheduled for completion during the second half of 2026.
A 25 year power purchase agreement, signed in March, is in place with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company.
Scatec will deliver engineering, procurement and construction, asset management and operations, and maintenance services for the project.
The company estimates total capital expenditure for the project at $590 million, to be partly financed by a targeted 80% non-recourse long-term project debt.
Scatec has signed equity bridge loans totalling $120 million for the project, which it says will postpone the project equity injections to the end of the construction period. The loans consist of $90 million from the Arab Energy Fund and $30 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.