Two major Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region projects combining solar PV and battery storage have progressed in Saudi Arabia and Egypt through ACWA Power and Scatec, respectively.
Scatec signs equity deals with Norfund, EDF
Norwegian renewable energy firm Scatec has signed equity deals for a solar-plus-storage project in Nagaa Hammadi, Egypt.
Scatec signed two equity deals with Norfund, the Norwegian state-run investment fund, and French energy utility EDF for stakes in its 1.1GW/200MWh Obelisk solar-plus-storage project in Egypt.
The deals will see Norfund take a 25% stake in the holding company for the Obelisk solar-plus-storage project, while EDF will take 20% in the operating company. Scatec will retain majority ownership of Obelisk, which is its largest renewables undertaking to date.
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“Obelisk is Scatec’s largest project to start construction to date and combines solar and batteries to deliver stable and cost-competitive renewable energy to support Egypt’s growing power demand and energy transition,” said Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog.
Earlier this year, the company raised nearly US$500 million to support the project, for which Scatec has previously cited an expected total cost of US$590 million.
Scatec said at the time that the project will be constructed in two phases, with 561MW of solar PV and the 100MW/200MWh BESS deployed in the first phase. Another 564MW of solar PV generation capacity will be added in the second.
A 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed for the project in September 2024 with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC).
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), African Development Bank (AfDB), and British International Investment (BII) provided a non-recourse financing package.
Scatec said it is pursuing more equity deals with other partners to reduce its economic interest in the Obelisk project, adding in a statement that partnering with external equity is part of its plan to “enhance capital efficiency and increase value creation, while retaining control of the power producing entities.”
Norfund is the Norwegian state’s development finance institution, run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It has financed Scatec’s renewables operations before, notably the 130MW Narino solar project in Colombia.
Earlier this year, UAE-headquartered AMEA Power completed commissioning of Egypt’s first-ever large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS), a 300MWh system supplied by Trina Storage to the developer’s 500MW Abydos Solar Project.
As with Scatec’s Obelisk project, AMEA Power signed a 25-year PPA with transmission and distribution (T&D) operator EETC in September 2024. The solar portion of Abydos was commissioned about a year ago. AMEA Power also has contracts in place to build Egypt’s first two standalone BESS projects, totalling 1,500MWh storage capacity.
This story by Will Norman, with additional reporting for Energy-Storage.news by Andy Colthorpe.
This story first appeared on PV Tech.
ACWA Power, Bapco Energies sign agreement for 2.8GW solar PV plant with co-located BESS
Saudi developer ACWA Power and Bahraini state-owned energy company Bapco Energies have signed a joint development agreement to build a 2.8GW solar plant in Saudi Arabia, to be co-located with a battery energy storage system (BESS).
The project will be built over “several phases”, according to ACWA Power, and power generated at the project will be transmitted to Bapco Energies’ operations in Bahrain.
The companies did not provide further details on the technical specification of the project, or timelines for construction, but noted that it will be built in the country’s Eastern Province.
“This joint agreement with Bapco Energies is a testament to the strong bilateral ties between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and our shared commitment to a sustainable and secure energy future,” said Raad Al Saady, vice chairman and managing director of ACWA Power.
ACWA Power has also started work at a number of other solar projects this year, most notably the Al Kahfah, the Ar Rass 2 and SAAD 2 projects, with a combined capacity of 2.7GW, which sourced modules and trackers from Chinese and Spanish companies, respectively.
This story by JP Casey.
To read the full version of this story, visit PV Tech.
