The government of the Arab Republic of Egypt through the Ministry of Military Production in collaboration with Smart Engineering Solutions (SES), plans to construct concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in the country.
CSP is a type of renewable energy that uses the sun’s energy to process heat with temperatures of 400ºC to 1000ºC. CSP plants are large scale renewable energy infrastructures that use CSP’s to process heat that can be transformed into electricity or stored.
With an investment of about US $1.2bn, the corporation also plans to be manufacturing components of these systems locally.
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According to Osama Kamal, SES’s chairperson, Smart Engineering Solutions (SES), together with Hany Al-Nokrashy, an international energy expert, have already started the selection process of CSP companies from a list of up to 16 companies. The process is expected to be finalized by the end of November year.
Kamal further mentioned that upon the identification of the fittest company, there will be a partnership to deepen the CSP technology and start manufacturing of the necessary components at the factories of military production in 12 months.
The chairperson also revealed he is preparing a draft legislation to replace old and outdated electricity stations with CSP power stations.
The work to be executed
The project, according to Kamal, includes the construction of five CSP power plants. Each single station is projected to cost approximately US $250m all of which will come from international and local lending bodies according to the SES’s chairperson.
“The state will not bear the burden for the implementation of these projects. Up to 70% of the financing will come from international bodies while 10-15% will be offered by local banks,” he elaborated.
