The history of solar power in Egypt dates back to 1912, when an American engineer and inventor called Frank Shuman built the world's first ever solar thermal power station in Maadi, a district in Cairo. Shuman's visionary ideals were evident in his famous statement, in which he says: "One thing I feel sure of... is that the human race must finally utilize direct sun power or revert to barbarism." Unfortunately, the station stopped with the outbreak of World War I, and remained forgotten ever since.

Egypt lies in the Sun Belt area, and direct normal irradiation ranges between 2000 to 3200 KWh/m2/y across the country. A lot of initiatives have been taken to try to use this potential in providing clean energy. In this report, we take a quick look at some of Egypt's major solar power projects.

1.       Kuraymat Plant

The Kuraymat solar thermal power plant, which started operating in 2011, lies 100 km south of Cairo, on the eastern side of the River Nile. The location was chosen for its large, flat desert land. The plant uses parabolic trough technology and was expected to generate as much as 34,000 MWh/yr.

2.       Siwa 10 MW PV Solar Power Plant

The 10 MW solar PV power plant in Siwa was the largest solar power installation at the time of its completion in March 2015, and accounts for 30% of the grid capacity of Siwa City, displacing approximately 14000 tons of CO2 per year. The plant provides clean electricity to over 6000 homes in Siwa City and outskirts.

3.       Kom Ombo 100 MW Solar Thermal Power Plant

A new thermal power plant is currently under construction in Kom Ombo, Aswan. The plant is expected to work on parabolic trough technology. The electric energy generated will be 385 Million Kwhr annually, saving about 90,000 Ton Oil Equivalent (T.O.E) and reduce emission about 200,000 tons CO2.

4.       Hurghada Egyptian-Japanese Solar Power Plant

A collaboration between the Egyptian New & Renewable Energy Authority and the Japan International Cooperation Agency has suggested a 20 MW PV power plant to be established in Hurghada. Through this project, JICA hopes to mitigate climate change by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, as well as promoting the use of renewable energy.

References:

https://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=65

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Shuman

http://enviromena.com/profiles/siwa-10-mw-solar-power-plant-2/

http://www.nrea.gov.eg/download/solar_new/100%20Mw%20Kom%20Ombo%20CSP%20project%20description.pdf

http://because.bz/environment/egyptian-japanese-solar-power-plant-planned-hurghada