Egypt signs $650m Dandara solar financing and grid agreements
Three agreements cover financing terms, grid connection and the National Bank of Egypt's contribution to a 1GW solar and battery plant in Qena.
Egypt has signed preliminary financing and implementation agreements for the Dandara solar project, a $650 million development in Qena governorate that pairs 1,000 MW of solar generation with 200 MWh of battery storage.
The cabinet announced the three signings in a statement on Monday. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly witnessed the ceremony at government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, alongside Electricity and Renewable Energy Minister Mahmoud Esmat.
The agreements cover financing terms, connection to the national grid, and the National Bank of Egypt's contribution to the project company.
Scatec, the Norwegian renewable energy developer, signed the financing agreement with three lenders: the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the African Development Bank. Scatec chief executive Terje Pilskog signed for the company. EIB vice president Gelsomina Vigliotti, EBRD managing director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Mark Davis, and Abdourahmane Diaw, the AfDB's country director in Egypt, signed for the lenders.
The grid agreement sets terms for the plant's use of the national grid and for supervision of the connection lines. Mona Rizk, who chairs the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, signed it with Mohamed El-Saadawy of the Holding Company for Metallurgical Industries and Mohamed Amer of Dandara Solar Energy Company. Amer and Ahmed El-Saeed, who heads the investment sector at the National Bank of Egypt, signed the bank's contribution agreement.
Dandara sits at Naga Hammadi and will be built in two phases. The first adds a 500 MW solar plant and 100 MWh of batteries; the second adds the same capacity again. Once complete, the plant is designed to cover roughly a third of the electricity demand of the Egypt Aluminum Company, a subsidiary of the Holding Company for Metallurgical Industries.
The cabinet said the supply would cut carbon emissions from aluminium production and help Egyptian products compete in export markets, where environmental requirements keep tightening. It described the signings as a step toward completing the project's financing and implementation arrangements.
Egypt is accelerating its renewable energy programme as higher oil prices push up the cost of the imported petroleum products and natural gas burned in its power stations. The country now targets a 45% renewable share by 2028 and 50% by 2030, raised from the 42% by 2030 written into its original master plan.
Scatec said on October 22 that it had signed an agreement with the EBRD to set up a renewable energy investment platform in Egypt, with the bank committing up to $221 million. That platform is expected to hold about 60% of Dandara's first phase, the 500 MW block scheduled ahead of the second.
