The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $184.1 million financing package for the development of the Obelisk 1-gigawatt solar photovoltaic project and a 200 mega watt (MW) battery energy storage system in Egypt.
The project, estimated to cost more than $590 million, will be Africa’s largest solar power plant and is located in Qena Governorate in southern Egypt.
The project, expected to come online by the third quarter of 2026, will generate an estimated 2,772 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of clean energy annually to the grid.
The battery energy storage system will help meet peak evening demand with renewable power while also providing an alternative to the risks of solar power generation.
Rania Al-Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, said “the Obelisk solar project is another important milestone for Egypt under the energy pillar of the NWFE program which has since its launch in November 2022 at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh delivered 4.2 GW of privately financed renewable energy investments, worth about $4 billion, with the support of partners such as the Africa Development Bank.”
As part of Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE) initiative, the Obelisk solar project has been granted a Golden License by the government, which recognizes it as a strategic initiative that will contribute to addressing Egypt’s energy constraints and advancing its energy transition.
The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company will be the sole owner of the power plant under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement.
“Obelisk is another landmark development under NWFE that leverages on Egypt’s and the African Development Bank’s leadership as well as commitment to harnessing the country’s renewable energy to enhance the resilience of the country’s energy supply to meet its fast-growing energy demand sustainably,” said Kevin Kariuki, AfDB’s Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth.
“This project also contributes to Egypt’s ambition of producing 42 percent of its power generation capacity from renewable energy sources by 2030 while spurring economic growth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
The finance funds comes from $125.5 million of ordinary resources from the Bank, as well as concessional funding from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) worth $20 million, and the Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund ($18.6 million), a partnership of the Bank Group and the Government of Canada.
An additional $20 million will come from the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund, with additional financing to be mobilized from a consortium of development finance institutions.
The Obelisk solar project joins a long list of AfDB-funded electricity projects in Africa.
