Middle East & Africa Solar PV News Snippets: EliTe Solar Breaks Ground On Solar Cell Fab In Egypt & More
Solar cell factory in Egypt: Singaporean solar PV manufacturer EliTe Solar has started the construction of its solar cell production factory in Egypt’s TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, managed by the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE). This factory with 5 GW capacity will feature 2 GW solar cell and 3 GW solar module production lines, expected to come online in September 2025. The company had earlier announced plans to establish over 8 GW manufacturing capacity in Egypt, starting with a 2 GW cell plant here.
500 MW solar project in Egypt: UAE-based renewable energy developer AMEA Power has won a ‘golden license’ from the Egyptian government to build an $850 million solar PV project with a 1 GW installed capacity. It will be accompanied by a 600 MWh energy storage system (ESS). Under phase I, 300 MW of electricity plus 300 MW energy storage capacity will be realized by August 2025. Phase II will bring online the remaining 700 MW of solar PV and 300 MW ESS capacity, as approved by the Egyptian cabinet. The project will be located in Aswan Governorate in Upper Egypt by AMEA subsidiary Abydos for Renewable Energy. The golden license provides AMEA with all requisite permits for the project implementation.
AMEA recently grid-connected 500 MW Abydos Solar PV Plant in Egypt’s Aswan Governorate calling it one of the largest solar PV plants in Africa. The project was inaugurated by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. It is expected to generate close to 1,500 GWh annually, enough to power around 300,000 households. The project is financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). AMEA Power says the project was completed within 18 months.
288 MW win for Scatec: Norway’s Scatec is one of the preferred bidders in South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) bid window 7 (BW7) auction round. It is developing this 288 MW DC/240 MW AC Mercury Solar PV 2 project in partnership while retaining 50.9% of the equity. Scatec will also provide EPC, O&M and asset management (AM) services. Commercial close for winning projects in the BW7 is expected in H2 2025.
€28 million for Chad solar projects: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved €28 million under its Desert to Power (DtP) program to support the construction of 30 MW of solar power plants in Chad. This comprises €20 million in direct support, combining a loan and grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), and €8 million in financial guarantees. Both projects will have 15 MW of installed capacity and will be accompanied by 6 MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS). The entire project capacity is estimated to cost €41 million. The solar power plants in Gassi and Lamadji will increase power supply by 20% by generating 61 GWh annually, aiding the country’s transition to clean energy from polluting fuel-based power, stated AfDB. DtP is AfDB’s pet project to realize 10 GW solar PV capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa.
TotalEnergies sets up Dubai solar project: France’s TotalEnergies has installed a 400-kW system in Dubai for Magnum Technology Center, a Worldwide Oilfield Machine (WOM) Group company. This project in the Jebel Ali Free Zone comprises 700 solar PV panels. It will generate around 650 MWh annually. Magnum designs and manufactures complete equipment packages for well testing & production, underbalanced drilling, and managed pressure drilling services for both onshore and offshore applications.