Egypt has decided to revamp its plans for its planned small solar PV projects in Upper Egypt. The government had planned to launch a series of small solar PV plants under the Kom Ombo solar PV scheme with a tender for 10 projects at 20 MW a piece, now the government is looking to change that and implement one big project.
Renewable energy developers are being squeezed out of the Egyptian market in the wake of the government’s strategy shift.
The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company told The National that it would launch a tender for a utility-scale 200-MW solar PV project at Kom Ombo. Unfortunately for those firms wanting to be involved in one of the 20 MW tenders, that is no longer on the table, and will require those companies still wanting to compete to rework their strategy and most likely their budgets.
In The National report, the company said the process was presented to all 15 prequalified candidates.
Faisal Eissa, the chief operating officer of Solar Shams, said the government had found it difficult to evaluate the offers based on prices and realized that it would be more complicated for multiple, smaller projects.