El-Gouna — one of Orascom Development’s sustainable towns — recently organised a field visit to its solar plant in partnership with SolarizEgypt.
The solar plant covers an area of 245,000 sqm with investments worth EGP 97m, producing 14 GWh annually.
The plant has a 25-year independent power producer (IPP) self-consumption system and a capacity of 7.128 MWp to cover 16% of the town’s needs.
The solar power produced supports lighting the town’s streets and buildings, reducing pressure on energy consumption throughout the year. El-Gouna also plans to expand its solar plant and double production in the near future.
The impact of clean energy generated by the solar plant is equivalent to approximately removing 1,187 cars off the road for one year, saving 1,007,969 gallons of gas, reducing 7,106.6 kg of CO2 emissions, saving 2,879.7 kg of standard coal, and planting 384.9 trees.
Commenting on developing a sustainable ecosystem in the governorate, El-Gouna’s CEO Mohamed Amer said: “Orascom Development has been committed to delivering its vision of creating sustainable, integrated towns for more than 33 years since El-Gouna’s inception.”
“With today’s visit, we affirm our commitment to Egypt’s strategy of maximising the use of renewable energy sources, enhancing the country’s environmental sustainability practices, and adhering to the UN SDGs to guarantee clean energy with affordable prices.”
El-Gouna pursues several environmental sustainability initiatives, including using 100% recycled water to irrigate 75% of its gardens and outdoor areas and sorting 100% of its solid waste while recycling 75% of it in cooperation with Ertekaa — a waste management company founded in 2014. An average of 15 tonnes of solid waste is collected daily in El-Gouna.
Yaseen Abdel-Ghaffar — Founder of SolarizEgypt — praised the cooperation with El-Gouna, saying: “With a precedent experience of more than 50 MW of projects, SolarizEgypt is the market leader in commercial and industrial solar energy. We are determined to continue pushing for the widespread adoption of solar energy in the Egyptian market and being part of this initiative right ahead of hosting the upcoming UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh to discuss the global environmental agenda and the next steps towards achieving sustainable development.”
