The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) has announced the financial bids for the construction of a 200 MW solar power plant in Kom Ombo, according to the Daily News Egypt.

EETC opened the bid presented by five companies and alliances and Abdul Latif Jameel Energy’s Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) emerged as the lowest bidder by quoting the L1 tariff of 2.79 cents/kWh.

A tariff of 3 cents/kWh was quoted by Scatec Solar, and 3.15 cents/kWh was quoted by the EDF, Marubeni, and Elsewedy Electric coalition.

The Actis Energy and Enerpal coalition also offered the same tariff of 3.15 cents/kWh. The Orascom-Engie conglomerate set the highest bid at 3.40 cents/kWh.

The Daily News Egypt reported that EETC has completed the topographical and geotechnical survey of the project land in Kom Ombo, Aswan. It will buy the energy produced from the project and transfer it to distribution points for a period of 20 years. The agreement is expected to be concluded by the end of the year.

The company is also planning for more tenders with a total capacity of 150 MW using the decreasing valuation bids method starting in October 2018. It is the part of the country’s electricity ministry’s plan to add new capacity of 600 MW in the coming years.

Catching up with the rest of the world, Egypt is also turning to solar power for its energy needs.

Recently, Mercom reported that EETC tendered 600 MW of grid-connected solar capacity to be developed in the west of Nile Area.

In July 2018, Lightsource BP, a global renewable energy development firm, formed a joint venture (JV) with HA Utilities, part of the Egyptian construction and engineering group Hassan Allam Holding (HAH), for the development and long-term operation of solar projects in Egypt.

Then in January 2018, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank Group member, decided to provide a guarantee of up to $102.6 million in support of the construction, operation, and maintenance of six solar power projects in Egypt.

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer