(AFP Photo)
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb inaugurated Sunday a photovoltaic (PV) solar panels production factory, with an annual production of up to 50 MW.
The inauguration took place at the Arab Renewable Energy Company (ARECO) headquarters, affiliated to the Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI).
The AOI glass panels generate electricity through direct exposure to the sun in solar energy farms in the desert, or through small units on the roofs of houses, factories, schools. The energy is then used to generate electricity for lighting columns.
The AOI is cooperating with universal alliances in the renewable energy sector to establish a PV solar plant with the capacity of 100 MW, through foreign financing and at 15% lower prices per KW lower than approved in the tariff, said the AOI head, Abdel Aziz Seif Eldien, during the inauguration.
He added that the organisation is currently preparing for the establishment of several solar plant projects, including a 50 MW solar plant in Beni Suef, Egypt, a 600 KW solar plant in Cyprus and a 4 MW solar plant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Regarding wind energy, the AOI is currently establishing the first production line fornacelle and rotor hubs (essential elements of wind turbines) in the organisation’s factory area in Heliopolis, Cairo, Seif Eldien said.
This production line will be followed by producing generators and convertors, completing the organisation’s turbines production system with an annual capacity of 100 turbines, Seif Eldien added.
Furthermore, he noted that the AOI’s investments in the renewable energy sector, to date, reached about $13bn.
The AOI, affiliated to the Armed Forces, is currently in charge of implementing numerous renewable energy projects in Egypt, in light of the government’s aims to vary its electricity generation sources to face the electricity balckout crisis across the country.
The renewable energy projects to generate electricity are currently among the government’s main priorities. It is studying projects offered by investors to build solar and wind power plants, while other projects are awaiting implementation.
Moreover, many governorates started expanding the use of solar energy in lighting streets, governmental buildings and even residential buildings, according to Minister of Local Development Adel Labib’s statements in April.
