SolarizEgypt has signed an agreement with Arabian Cement Company, one of Egypt’s leading cement producer, for setting up a solar photovoltaic (PV) energy plant within its premises in the Suez Governorate. The former, a certified company, has been designing, financing, installing and commissioning PV solar power plants across Egypt since 2013. It offers customized solutions to the commercial, residential and industrial sectors and provides consumers with a cleaner and cost effective alternative to conventional electrical energy.
SolarizEgypt’s project will be implemented on a build-own-operate transfer (Boot) model; it will be financed by QNB AlAhli under the EBRD-Green Economy Program. According to the agreement, the company will be responsible for the construction and operation of the unit for a period of twenty five years, said Sergio Alcantarilla, ACC’s chief executive.
With total cost of the solar energy unit expected to be around $5.56 million (E£100 million), SolarizEgypt’s project is expected to generate more than 14GW and will produce up to 4% of the of the total power requirement for ACC’s plant for the next 25 years.
Incidentally, the unit is expected to be operational by the second quarter of this year, thus saving significant amounts of the plant’s electricity expenses incrementally year-on-year.
“As we continue to lead the cement sector in Egypt, we endeavour to constantly spearhead the industry with bold, efficient and reliable advancements,” said Alcantarilla. “At ACC, we have a stellar track record of firsts in the market. Three years ago, ACC was the first Egyptian cement company to be ISO 50001 certified for its energy management techniques. Moreover, last year, we won the 2017 Award of Excellence in Energy Management from the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM)”.
He went on to add, “We are also the first to apply the Hotdisc technology in Egypt, the Middle East and Africa, using the largest system of its kind globally. Today, I’m proud to be announcing yet another innovative first that will not be a last in ACC’s portfolio of sector leading firsts. I would also like to express my honor to be working with SolarizEgypt, and looking forward to the fruitful results of such a revolutionary project”.
According to Ghaffar, SolarizEgypt was delighted to be a pioneer since this will be the first solar power purchasing agreement in Egypt’s cement industry to date.
“This project is enabled by a unique business model, where SolarizEgypt acts as an independent power producer and sells electricity directly to ACC, with EGP denominated competitive pricing to the current governmental tariffs. The project will be financed by QNB AlAhli under EBRD-Green Economy Financing Facility; marking SolarizEgypt’s second FC in 2018 and providing further validation to the company’s sustainable strategy for offering maximum savings to clients through a zero-investment model,” explained Ghaffar.
He went on to add, “SolarizEgypt is leading the commercial and industrial solar market with more than 30 MW of signed projects and is committed to continue its efforts to drive the broad adoption of solar energy in the Egyptian market”.
