Private energy distribution company Taqa Arabia of Egypt has commissioned a 20 MW solar power plant in Sharm El-Sheikh as the largest PV facility to date for the Egyptian resort city that's set to host 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) from November 6, 2022.
The project has come up on 250,000 sqm area in Nabq Bay area of South Sinai Governorate and was built for an investment of EGP 250 million. It is expected to generate over 42 GWh annually, enough to supply clean electricity to over 6,000 hotel rooms, and will serve Nabq tourist region catering to 30% of its power load.
Taqa financed the project for which land availability was facilitated by the Tourism Development Authority of South Sinai.
"The project will reduce carbon emissions by about 500,000 tons throughout its lifetime, which extends up to 25 years," said Taqa Power's Managing Director, Sami AbdelKader. "Over 100 workers, including engineers and technicians specialized in solar energy took part in the construction of the station that is set to serve Nabq tourist region, where Global Energy is licensed for electricity distribution in Nabq area and implements 'self-consumption system'." Global Energy is a Taqa group company.
Egypt targets renewable energy to cover 42% of the national energy mix by 2030. At the end of 2021, it had a total installed renewables capacity of 6.226 GW out of which solar PV contributed 1.65 GW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).