Terra Sola to drive solar power growth in Egypt for 2GW

Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Terra Sola Consortium for an integrated project in Egypt having a generation capacity of up to 2GW.

The Terra Sola Consortium includes Terra Sola Ventures (Terra Sola) and Swiss wealth management firm Terra Nex Financial Engineering (Terra Nex) as partners.

Under the deal, multiple solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities will be set up on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis in the country, which are expected to cost around $3.5bn.

The project, which is likely to produce 2,000MW of renewable power, will be developed in multiple phases.

The consortium will also build a 200MW solar PV Module Manufacturing Factory and an Inverter Factory, to ensure supply of solar equipment for Terra Sola’s Egyptian power plants.

Terra Solar chairman David Heimhofer said: "This MOU is a solid step forward in the government of Egypt’s efforts to develop the country’s solar energy capabilities and meet its future demand for power."

The $3.5bn project will bring together European expertise, Swiss financial strength and German solar technical skills in order to meet the growing energy requirements in Egypt.

Besides developing the prospective solar power facilities, Terra Sola Consortium will also work for educating the nationals about the solar sector through a Human Capital Development (HCD) programme. It has also planned to establish a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Entrepreneurship Fund to help build 1,250 SMEs.