Egypt aims to increase its use of renewable energy to 22 percent by 2020, the country's investment and international cooperation minister Sahar Nasr told regional director of Norway's Scatec Solar Morten Langsholdt during a Cairo meeting on Sunday. According to an official press release by the ministry, Nasr told Langsholdt that Egypt is keen on achieving sustainable development through the use of renewable energy. Nasr discussed future investments in Egypt with Langsholdt, who asserted that his company – along with a number of investors including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – is keen on providing $3 billion in investments to Egypt under the Solar Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Program. Egypt has approved feed-in tariffs for renewable energy production, allowing the government to guarantee a certain price for energy produced so as to encourage investment in the renewable energy sector, with tariffs depending on designated production categories. The Norwegian company is expected to pump $500 million in Egypt in October, according to Langsholdt, who said that 40 solar power plants would be established in Upper Egypt's Benban village. The solar plants are to be completed in Aswan by 2018 with a capacity of 1,800 megawatts. Nasr welcomed Scatec's investments in Egypt, especially in the solar power field, adding that Egypt is keen on utilising its massive solar power resources and generating electricity from renewable energy so as to ensure sustainability. In 2016, Scatec announced a plan to inject $650 million in renewable energy investments in Egypt, establishing five solar energy projects with a capacity of 250 MW, including three in Aswan's Benban. Egypt has been aiming to upgrade its power plant capacity and renewable energy projects in order to meet rising power demand and resources.
