The Egyptian power firm North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company will issue cheques amounting to EGP 300,000 for 15 entities participating in the government’s initiative to buy solar power from small plants atop buildings. The company’s CEO, Nagy Aref, stated that these amounts cover 3-month power purchases and are calculated based on the country’s Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) rates, reported Al Borsa.
The contributors selling solar electricity to the company include Hisham Tawfic, Ramsis Attia, Abd El Hameed Al Saiad, Systems Engineering Company and Obour Minerals Company. Their power production capacity ranges between 6KW and 20KW, as small power plants are defined by having an output of less than 500KW.
The Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy estimates that solar energy generated by such plants will reach a total of 300MW. This is based on the the number of licenses issued by New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), which has reached 120 as of mid October.
Egypt Oil&Gas reported in September that Egyptian power distribution companies have received about 200 requests for small solar projects implemented on building roof tops. Interest in Egypt’s rooftop solar projects has grown following the announcement made by the Minister of Electricity, Mohamed Shaker, that tariffs under phase II of FiT will be 20% more than that of phase I.
