Workers of solar energy projects in Benban, Aswan underwent coronavirus examination as a precaution and preventive measure to combat the virus spread.
Informed sources told Daily News Egypt that the testing included workers of managing services, maintenance, and operation, who are all Egyptian. The examination aims to ensure the safety of workers especially as they contact representatives of foreign companies.
The sources pointed out that those representatives have limited their visits to all project sites since the government announced first cases of coronavirus about a month ago.
The total capacity of Benban Solar Complex is about 1,465MW, comprising 32 companies and alliances with investments amounting to $2.5bn. Some companies had problems in operation and installation which resulted in the failure to operate their stations at full capacity. Other stations halted operation for up to 40 days due to technical problems.
The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) buys Benban solar stations’ production for about 8.4 cents/kW. EETC calculates 30% of the value of the tariff based on the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar at the time of issuing the tariff, which was EGP 8.88, while 70% of the tariff value is calculated based on the US dollar price when the tariff matures.
The Ministry of Electricity aims to produce 20% of the country’s total electricity from new and renewable resources by 2022, and the percentage will increase to 47% in 2037.
Mohamed El-Khayyat, Chairperson of the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), said the cabinet agreed to implement several wind farms with a total capacity of 1,500MW, including three projects implemented by Toyota-Orascom, Siemens-Gamesa, and Al Nowais. Agreements on these projects are currently underway.
He explained that the attractiveness of investment in new and renewable energy projects encouraged many Arab and international companies to send new offers to implement energy projects.
He added that the NREA is still in discussion with several companies to implement power stations with different capacities, and after the completion of discussions, a report will be submitted to the minister of electricity and the cabinet.
