Twenty four PV plants on board for feed in tariff scheme

In North Africa, the South Cairo Electricity Distribution Company (SCEDC) has signed power purchase agreements to procure generated power from 24 small-scale solar power plants.

According to a source at the SCEDC, the total generation capacity is around 1,183kW. The source added that reciprocity metres have been installed to measure the energy produced; valuable preparation for issuing queues for energy purchased, Daily News Egypt reported.

Feed in tariff scheme

The source added that several companies have agreed to install small rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, including the Arab Organisation for Industrialisation, Onera Systems, and Banha Company for Electronic Industries, media reported.

The first phase of this initiative will enable the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy to procure 300MW, through the feed in tariff system. According to media, the second phase will increase to 1,000MW.

The need to secure more clean power plants is aligned with the country's ambitious target of attaining 20% of the region’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

In December, Egypt secured $500 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to help fast-track the country’s new solar power initiative, which aims to develop a total of 2,000MW to be distributed over 40 utility-scale projects.

The funds, which have been earmarked for this year (2016), will be used towards the development of several plants and will help the country achieve its goal of generating 20% of its total power generation from renewable resources.

Proposals received

The source at the SCEDC, further noted that the company assesses and examines all the paperwork once it receives request to establish a solar power plant, media reported.

According to the source, the company received 50 proposals from investors and private institutions to install small power plants on their rooftops with a generation capacity starting from 30 kW/hour to 200 kW/hour.

CO2 emissions on steady rise

The Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) recently released a statement saying that Egypt has seen a 2.13% rise in carbon emissions over the 2014/2015 period.

This increase has been attributed to a greater consumption of petroleum products and natural gas, the Egypt Independent reported.

According to the CAPMAS statement, the biggest single source of carbon dioxide emissions in Egypt is the electricity sector, which is a large consumer of petroleum products, accounting for 42.6% of the nation's total CO2 emissions during 2014/2015.

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