ACWA Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Government of Egypt for the 200 MW Kom Ombo PV Plant which the Saudi Arabian energy company said it will develop, finance, construct and operate.
It expects construction at the project site to be complete in Q1/2021. The plant is supposed to generate clean power for 130,000 households.
ACWA Power secured rights for the project in a tender floated by the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC).
The Saudi Arabian company offered the lowest tariff of $0.0275 per kWh to win this project and beat its contenders Scatec Solar with $0.03045 per kWh, the EDF/Marubeni/Elsewedy consortium that offered $0.0315 per kWh, Engie/Orascom with $0.034 per kWh and the Actis-Enerpal consortium that submitted a bid of $0.03517 per kWh, while FRV quoted a bid of $0.0279 per kWh, as reported by local media.
Now, ACWA Power has confirmed winning the project with the PPA signed.
Though the press statement from ACWA Power does not specify the actual winning tariff for this plant, the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Dr Mohamed Shaker called it the lowest tariff contracted to date for a solar energy plant in North Africa.
The Kom Ombo power plant is being set up in the country with the help of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) (see EBRD Tender For Egypt PV Auction Design).
ACWA Power has developed three solar power plants in Egypt's Benban Solar Complex for which financial closure was achieved in January 2018 (see ACWA Financial Closure For 165.5 MW In Egypt).