The British International Investment (BII), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)—have pledged a combined $479.1 million to Obelisk Solar Power, a project vehicle owned by renewable energy company Scatec.
This substantial investment will enable the construction of a 1.1 gigawatt (GW) solar energy facility coupled with a 200 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery storage system in Egypt’s Nagaa Hammadi region.
The AfDB is leading the financing effort with a total commitment of $184.1 million. This comprises:
$125.5 million from its standard financing resources.
$20 million in concessional funds from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA).
$18.6 million sourced through the Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund, established in partnership with the Canadian government.
An additional $20 million mobilized from the Clean Technology Fund under the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) framework.
The EBRD is offering up to $173.5 million in funding, including a first-loss risk mitigation guarantee provided by the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+), covering $101.9 million of the financing for a period of 18 years.
The institution is also contributing a $6.5 million grant via its Shareholder Special Fund to further support the project’s rollout.
BII is bolstering the battery storage aspect of the project by providing a $100 million concessional loan alongside a $15 million repayable grant.
This contribution aims to significantly reduce the financial burden of deploying the energy storage system.
The solar and storage plant, fully developed by Scatec, will be executed in two phases:
Phase One will see the installation of 561 MW of solar generation capacity and a 100 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system, with operations targeted to begin in the first half of 2026.
Phase Two will add another 564 MW of solar capacity and is expected to commence operations in the second half of the same year.
Electricity generated from the facility will be sold through a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) denominated in U.S. dollars.
The agreement is secured with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and backed by a sovereign guarantee from the Egyptian government.
This collaborative financing effort underscores the growing international commitment to sustainable energy infrastructure in Africa.
Once completed, the integrated solar and battery project is expected to play a vital role in diversifying Egypt’s energy mix and enhancing grid reliability while contributing to the country’s climate resilience goals.
“We are delighted to partner with ISA to support the development of solar energy in Africa,” said Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50. “This partnership will help to accelerate the deployment of solar energy in Africa and improve the lives of millions of Africans,” he added.
Nigerian cold-chain startup Figorr (Formerly Gricd) has raised $1.5 million in seed funding to revolutionize perishables insurance with a data-driven approach.
Kenyan agri-tech startup Farm to Feed has secured funding from Renew Capital, a pan-African investment firm, to help them scale their operations. The exact amount of funding was not disclosed.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $100 million loan to support youth and women-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria through the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB) initiative.
© 2021 Empower Africa. All rights reserved.
