Egypt’s first large-scale hybrid solar and battery plant has begun construction as the country looks to its abundant sunshine to help fix its energy crisis.
Obelisk, located in Nagaa Hammadi, will combine 1.1 gigawatts of solar production with 200 megawatt hours of battery storage. The $590 million project is being built by Scatec, a Norwegian renewable energy company mostly working in emerging markets.
Scatec already has four other renewable projects in Egypt, and the north African country is aiming to increase its share of renewable production from 13% in 2023, to 42% by 2030.
Around three quarters of Egypt’s electricity comes from gas. But in recent years, as its domestic gas production fell, it became reliant on imports and rising gas prices plunged Egypt into a series of blackouts.
Renewable projects are becoming increasingly attractive to emerging economies, which tend to be hit the hardest by rising fuel prices, Terje Pilskog, CEO of Scatec told CNN. “With renewables, you are not dependent on importing fuels,” he said. “It is also about predictability.”