The New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) will offer a tender within days, to set up a solar power plant in Kom Ombo in Aswan at a capacity of 20 MW, in collaboration with the French Agency for Development (AFD). Sources at the authority said that the NREA signed an agreement with the consultative alliance of DNV, KEMA, and ERCC to prepare a technical and economic feasibility study on the project, as well as an evaluation of its environmental and social impact. The sources told Daily News Egypt that the AFD introduced a loan for €40m to finance the construction of this solar power plant which will begin operations next year. The agency financing includes restructuring the infrastructure, and a contract for operating and maintaining the plant for three years, as well as a training programme for the NREA staff responsible for implementing the project. This station will connect nearly 40 GW/h to the national electricity grid—equal to 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year—and reduce the carbon impact resulting from generating this electricity. The sources said that a number of Arab and international companies are willing to compete for the tender, particularly as it is financed by France. Companies will be technically chosen after reviewing their previous experience to determine the best, technically and financially. The project consists of a photovoltaic solar cells that convert sunlight into direct electric current and inverts which convert the direct electric current to alternating current, in addition to transformers and transmission lines for connecting the plant to the national grid. The NREA received a grant from the European Union worth €800,000 delegated to the AFD. The grant is allocated to activities related to the project design, such as feasibility studies and technical support to the NREA. The sources added that the NREA will offer four tenders by the end of 2016 for establishing solar power plants with total capacities of 80 MW at 20 MW per plant. These tenders are financed by many financing authorities, such as the Japanese JICA.
