In the News:
- Egypt secured a $37 million OPEC Fund facility for Abydos II solar project .
- The fund will build a 1,000 MW solar project in Aswan.
- The deal is part of a $571.8 million IFC package.
Egypt has secured a $37 million loan from the OPEC Fund to support the development of the Abydos II solar photovoltaic project, a major renewable energy initiative in the country’s southern Aswan Governorate.
The project combines a 1,000 MW solar power plant integrated with a 600 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system, placing it among the largest solar facilities currently under development in Egypt.
It is expected to deliver more than 3 million megawatt-hours of electricity annually to the national grid, supplying power to over 500,000 households and reducing carbon emissions by about 1.6 million tonnes per year.
OPEC Fund President, Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said the project represents the institution’s focus on scaling renewable energy infrastructure in partner countries.
“By supporting this project, the OPEC Fund is advancing Egypt’s renewable energy transition while facilitating private sector investment from our member country, the United Arab Emirates.
“The integration of battery storage will help support grid stability and improve the ability of the power system to meet demand during peak periods,” he said.
The deal forms part of a US$571.8 million package arranged by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with the OPEC Fund participating as a parallel lender.
Why this matters for Egypt’s energy future
Egypt’s renewable energy expansion has increasingly depended on large, externally financed projects to meet rising electricity demand while easing pressure on its gas-dominated power system.
The OPEC Fund has supported Egypt across several sectors, including energy.
In 2025, it committed $30 million to the 1.1 GW Gulf of Suez wind project, expected to supply electricity to over one million homes.
The initiative is being developed by UAE-based AMEA Power under a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) model, where the developer finances, builds and operates the plant over the long term.
The addition of Abydos II expands Egypt’s solar capacity at a time when the government is targeting 42% of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030.
The loan contributes to a financing structure that Egypt has increasingly relied on to scale renewable energy projects while maintaining private sector participation.
What you should know
The Abydos II project follows earlier renewable energy developments in Egypt that laid the groundwork for larger installations.
One of them is the 200 MW Kom Ombo Solar PV Plant, which received backing from the OPEC Fund and other international financiers.
The development later incorporated utility-scale battery storage, marking one of Egypt’s first attempts to pair solar generation with energy storage at scale, according to the fund.
AMEA Power, the project developer, previously partnered with the IFC on renewable projects in Egypt, including a 300 MWh battery system at Kom Ombo that the IFC said proved the feasibility of large-scale solar with storage.
These projects were established as Egypt sought to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and expand renewable capacity through private-sector participation.
