The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) have announced three new tenders for renewable energy totaling 500MW, reported PV Tech.

The tenders are for both solar and wind projects, and are in line with the Egyptian government’s aggressive push to increase its share of renewables in the energy mix.

Specifically, the law firm Eversheds LLP has announced that the first tender is for 200MW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity, the second for 50MW of concentrated solar power (CSP) capacity, and the third for 250MW of wind power, according to SeeNews Renewables.

The authorities have invited companies with experience in these areas to bid for the projects, which will be operated on a Build, Own, and Operate (BOO) basis. The Egyptian government has laid out strict rules regarding which companies are allowed to bid on the projects. For example, to bid on the first PV tender, companies must have a track record of producing at least 3 facilities of 50MW each.

Similar previous experience is required for the other tenders as well. Due to these restrictions, analysts predict the bids will attract very narrow interest, and that a, “relatively small group of top international developers” will be willing to bid, said Cornelius Matthes, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at Italian company Building Energy, in an interview with UAE-based The National.

Some reports have also stated that while the Egyptian government has finalized deals for nearly 1,800MW of renewable power, none of those deals have been “closed” financially.