About 1.45 GW of solar energy from power plants at Benban in Aswan Governorate will be linked to Egypt?s national electricity network during Q1 2019, an official source at the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy said
The Benban solar park is set to generate the equivalent of 90 per cent of the energy produced by Aswan High Dam. Already home to the most important electricity production plant in Egypt, Aswan is set to bear and implement Egypt?s dream of fulfilling 20 per cent clean energy by 2022.
The source clarified that the 1.45 GW will be produced from 29 solar power plants, noting that around 32 Egyptian-foreign alliances started the construction of these plants, according to Egypt Today report.
The commercial operation of the first solar power plant with a capacity of 50MW from Benban was completed to be fully capable of generating energy to the national electricity network, the source said. The construction of the second solar plant in Benban started and is scheduled to be completed by the end of August with a capacity of 50MW, noting that Benban accommodates 40 solar stations.
?Benban is world?s largest solar power plant,? the source stressed.
The total energy generated from renewable energy plants (solar and wind energy) during May reached 1.25 per cent, and the percentage of capacity on the national electricity network is up to 1.75 per cent per day.
In April, Aswan Governor Magdy Hegazy and the Chinese consul to Cairo inaugurated four new solar power plants in Benban with a total capacity of 186MW and an investment cost of US$180mn.
The consortium which will construct the plants includes four companies of different nationalities ? Egyptian, Chinese, Spanish and Saudi Arabian, the governor said.
In mid-March, Egypt's electricity minister Mohamed Shaker inaugurated the first phase of the Benban solar park. The Benban power plant will cover Egypt?s electricity needs and edge the country forward on its path to becoming the region?s energy hub.
Meanwhile, the Ministry will inaugurate the world?s largest assembly of wind turbines in Gabal El-zeit in the Red Sea governorate by the end June, with a total cost of US$670.64mn.
