Saudi Arabian group ACWA Power has reached financial close on three solar photovoltaic (PV) projects, in Egypt.
The projects, which are located in the southern Aswan province, are being developed under Round 2 of Egypt’s Feed-in-Tariff programme and are subject to 25-year power purchase agreements.
Seventy-five percent of the $190-million cost of the projects will be funded through nonrecourse project debt from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, while the remaining 25% will be financed with equity capital provided by sponsors.
“We are very excited that our first projects in Egypt have not only achieved financial close but are three PV power plants, supporting the Egyptian government in its pursuit of securing 20% renewable energy in the power generation mix by 2022,” CEO Paddy Padmanathan said in a statement.
Construction on the projects, which will have a respective capacity to generate 67.5 MW, 70 MW and 28 MW, will begin in the first quarter of this year and are set to be commissioned in the fourth quarter.