Dec 28 2010
Siwa's Umm Al-Saghir and Ain Zahra, the two villages in Egypt will receive solar power soon. According to Hassan Younes, the Energy Minister of the country, a partnership formed between the Ministry for Environment and Land from Italy and Renewable Energy Authority of Cairo will receive LE 3 million funding from Italy to execute the projects.
The power generated from the plants will be utilized to provide solar powered lighting for the two villages, houses and other places such as mosques, schools and hospitals. The project is aimed at providing power to villages that are not connected with the main power grid of the country. Beltone Financial, a Cairo-based investment bank, said that the small project shows the right steps in broadening the energy sources of the country and provides a suitable option for the energy mix of the country. Mohab Hallouda, who works in World Bank’s Egypt office as Senior Energy Specialist, held that solar energy is more ideal for use in places that are not covered by grid and added that more such areas can be covered when the prices of the solar cells become affordable.
According to AlembicHC, the first solar plant of the country with a production capability of 140 MW will become functional in Koraymat in 2011 with an initial solar power generation of 20 MW. It also mentioned that under the proposed plan of the Ministry of Electricity for the year 2012-2017 a 100 MW solar electricity plant will be established in Upper Egypt and a 20 MW plant will become functional in Hurgahda during the period.