Investors seek to acquire solar energy projects in feed-in tariff

Prices range between $2m and $5m per company, decided based on the volume of studies and licensing

Ten investors of Egyptian, American, Chinese, French, and Emirati nationalities have submitted requests to companies taking part in the second phase of the feed-in tariff to acquire their projects for the value paid to the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission company (EETC).
Six companies among those who took part in the projects of the feed-in tariff have submitted unofficial requests to the NREA to obtain extra land to launch solar energy projects, and the request was rejected by officials.
Informed sources said that the value of the acquisition offers is determined based on the procedures, studies, and licensing obtained by companies. The price of a single project ranges between EGP 2m and EGP 5m.
The value differs based on the value of the studies carried out and the obtainment of licences as well as the usufruct agreements.
Solar energy projects have attracted the attention of investors, and it became a goal to obtain shares in them on the announcement of contracting with three companies for the first phase of the feed-in tariff to purchase the electricity produced from projects for 25 years, with guarantee from the Ministry of Finance.
A large number of investors are preparing to obtain an initial agreement from international banks to finance their projects during the second phase of the feed-in tariff, which began in October.
The sources added that international companies seek to inject investments in the solar energy sector based on the feed-in tariff projects, whether by acquiring companies not willing to complete their projects or by applying at the NREA and following the procedures.
They explained that the buyer and seller of the companies should obtain the approval of the Ministry of Electricity, the NREA, and the EETC before concluding the sale agreement.
The sources pointed out that when the owner of the project sells a share of their company, it will not affect the project, especially as the buyer will only own that certain share of the project, which can increase until they seize the whole project.
The government announced a call to tender for feed-in tariff renewable energy projects. Of the 187 companies that submitted applications, 136 Egyptian and international companies were selected to establish wind and solar power plants.
Thirteen solar energy plants will be established with capacities of 20MW or less. Eighty-seven companies were chosen to establish solar power plants with capacities of 20 to 50MW, and 36 other companies were chosen to establish wind power plants with a capacity of more than 20 MW.
Twenty-three companies have withdrawn from the projects. The Ministry of Electricity targets to launch solar power plants with capacities of 1,990MW in the Benban area of Aswan.