A consortium of development lenders is providing up to $566mn in financing for Egypt’s 1.2GW Nefer Menya solar project, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced on 20 October. The plant, which includes 600MWh of battery storage, is being developed by UAE-Egyptian renewables joint venture Infinity Power and Hassan Allam Utilities-backed HAU Energy in Minya, Upper Egypt.
The EBRD is arranging $265mn of the financing, including $160mn from its own funds, alongside Germany’s DEG, the Netherlands’ FMO and France’s Proparco. The EBRD describes Nefer Menya as Africa’s largest individual solar PV project. Egypt’s 1.47GW Benban Solar Park is larger overall, but comprises 32 separate plants. Egypt had 3.5GW of installed solar capacity as of July. Power from Nefer Menya will be sold to state-owned Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) under a 25-year agreement. (CONTINUED - 230 WORDS)