Acwa Power, a Saudi Arabia-based power generation company, has attained financial close on Kom Ombo, a 200MW utility-scale solar power plant in Egypt.

With an overall investment of around $182m (SR682.5m), the Kom Ombo solar plant will begin operations in January 2023.

The Kom Ombo solar project will be located in the desert area of Kom Ombo in the Aswan governorate, and covers an area of 5km².

The plant will generate enough energy to power 130,000 Egyptian homes while offsetting 280,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

It will contribute significantly to the country’s goal of generating 42% of its power from renewable sources by 2035 and has one of the lowest tariffs in Africa.

In April 2023, ACWA Power secured a funding package of $123m for the project from international financing institutions including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the OPEC Fund for International Development, the African Development Bank (AfDB), AfDB’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation and Arab Bank.

The package included $35.6m from the EBRD, $14.4m from the OPEC Fund, $14.4m from the AfDB, $34.1m from the GCF, $14.4m from Arab Bank and $10m from SEFA under the Covid-19 IPP relief programme.

EBRD also provided an equity bridging loan of $14m, along with $45m offered by APICORP.

ACWA Power CEO Marco Arcelli stated: “We are poised to turn our vision into reality. I am thankful for the great support from all the financing institutions involved.

“Together, we demonstrate our dedication to driving positive environmental impact and reinforce our joint contribution to Egypt's energy independence goals.”

ACWA Power signed a power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Government in October 2018 to build and operate the solar plant.