Egypt’s solar energy sector has garnered $1.8 billion in investments, Amwal Al Ghad reports.
Two of the biggest investors are the World Bank’s International Financial Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank of Reconstruction (EBRD), according to Amwal Al Ghad.
The IFC is financing 13 solar projects at a cost of $203 million, and the EBRD is providing loans worth $380 million for an additional 16 solar projects. The projects will have a combined production capacity of 1.4 gigawatts (GW) and have also received investments from other sources, according to Bloomberg.
“These are the first private renewable energy projects in Egypt, and it’s not an easy macroeconomic or geopolitical situation,” The Head of Power and Energy Utilities Department at the EBRD, Harry Boyd-Carpenter, told Bloomberg, adding, “[y]et because it’s got the right regulatory framework in place, Egypt has been able to attract all of these different investors and should comfortably get more than a gigawatt of capacity financed this year.”
The EBRD has approved $500 million in financing to support renewable energy production in Egypt.
Egypt plans to produce 20% of its electricity from new and renewable energy sourced by 2022. At present more than 90% of its electricity is generated from oil and gas, Amwal Al Ghad reports from Bloomberg data.