The construction works of the 200 MW Kom Ombo solar power plant in Egypt, will now be carried out by India’s Sterling and Wilson. This comes following an agreement with the Saudi Arabia based Independent Power Producer (IPP) company, ACWA Power.

The decision was reached as a result of the withdrawal of the former Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor for the project, Mahindra Susten Pvt. Ltd, due to “the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic”. Mahindra Susten Pvt. Ltd., formerly Mahindra EPC Services Pvt. Ltd., is a subsidiary of the Mahindra Group, a portfolio company under the Cleantech arm of Mahindra Partners.

According to Diaa El-Din Salah, the Regional Director in Egypt and North Africa at Sterling and Wilson, they are concluding discussions ahead of inking the contract for the project before the end of the year.

About the project

The project entails the installation of two-sided solar panels that are designed with the ability to capture the sun’s rays on both sides.  This technology will achieve greater efficiency and improve the performance of the cells even in the winter season.

As part of the project, Sterling and Wilson will also build a 220 kV transformer station to connect the plant to the national grid.

According to Acwa Power, the photovoltaic (PV) park is expected to generate enough power to meet the annual consumption of about 130,000 homes and do away with 280,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year once operational.

A 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC). This agreement states that the electricity from the plant will be sold to EETC at US$ 0.0248 per kWh, which is the lowest tariff contracted for solar energy in the North African country.