The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved a US$184.1 million financing package for the Obelisk 1-gigawatt solar photovoltaic project and 200MWh battery energy storage system in Egypt.
- •Located in southern Egypt,the project will be Africa’s largest solar power plant.
- •The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company will be the project’s only off-taker under a 25-year USD-denominated Power Purchase Agreement.
- •The project, set to cost at least US$590million, will be operational by the third quarter of 2026 and will generate an estimated 2, 722 gigawatt hours of energy annually to Egypt’s national grid.
“This project [] contributes to Egypt’s ambition of producing 42 percent of its power generation capacity from renewable energy sources by 2030 while spurring economic growth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kevin Kariuki, AfDB’s Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth.
Egypt aims to add 10 GW of renewable energy capacity with investments of approximately US$10 billion, and to phase out 5GW of fossil fuel power generation within the next five years.
The AfDB’s financing for the solar project will include US$125.5 million of ordinary resources, US$20 million concessional funding, US$18.6 million from the Canada-AfDB Climate Fund, and US$20 million from the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund.
