Italian oil and gas company Eni has announced plans to develop a portfolio of renewable energy projects in Egypt, starting with 50 MW solar PV power plant.
The first project of 50 MW solar PV will be built in Sinai, near Eni’s Abu Rudeis facilities. The project will be jointly developed by Petrobel, an equal joint venture between Eni-owned IEOC and state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) under fast-track mode. The project will be sanctioned next month and expected to be commissioned by December 2017.
“With this initiative, the Egyptian authorities have confirmed their strong commitment towards the environment, based on the double positive effect of reducing the emissions from power generation and utilizing a green fuel in the auto transportation system,” Eni said, in a statement.
Eni already has a strong presence in Egypt since 1954 and operates through its subsidiary IEOC. Company is the owner of massive Zohr gas field and expected to start production next year, currently produces about 210,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Egypt.
This project would be part of Eni’s green energy program which aims to develop 420 MW of renewable energy projects mostly solar power generation by 2022.
The announcement is the first since Egypt announced reduction in the feed-in tariffs for solar power projects. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy recently announced that it reduced the feed-in tariffs for solar power projects. Projects with size of 500 kW to 20 MW will now have feed-in tariffs of US¢7.8/kWh, down from US¢13.6/kWh while projects of size 20-50 MW will see feed-in tariffs fall from US¢14.0/kWh to US¢8.4/kWh.
The Egyptian government also announced plans to change rules and regulations pertaining to the second phase of solar power expansion. The government will now allow international arbitration to address disputes.
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