AMEA Power gets funding to build 1 GW of renewable energy plants in Egypt: Al Nowais subsidiary AMEA Power has locked in USD 1.1 bn in debt and equity for a 500 MW solar plant and 500 MW wind farm in Egypt, according to a cabinet statement. AMEA Power will build, manage, and operate the two plants, the company said in a statement.

The breakdown: The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), Dutch development bank FMO, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are collectively providing USD 500 mn for the solar plant. Meanwhile, the USD 800 mn wind farm is receiving USD 500 mn from the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation, the IFC, and three commercial banks — Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank — covered in ins. by Nippon Export Investment Ins., according to a statement from lead arranger IFC. The IFC also managed to mobilize a working capital facility from CIB, the statement said, without disclosing the exact amount the bank is lending.

Refresher: The 500 MW wind farm in Ras Ghareb will be built by Amunet, a local special purpose vehicle in which AMEA Power owns a 60% stake and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation holds the remaining balance. AMEA Power’s solar plant, which is located in Kom Ombo, was expanded from 200 GW to 500 GW in 2020, and is tied to a contract that allows Al Nowais to obtain additional land for further expansions.

Most affordable power in Africa: Power from the solar park will be priced at USD 0.02 per KWh while wind will cost USD 0.03 per KWh, which the IFC says are the “lowest rates in Africa and among the least expensive globally.”

Project timeline: Construction on both projects is set to begin this month, according to the IFC statement. The solar plant is set to be completed in 18 months, while the wind farm should be finished in 30 months.

AMEA Power is also getting in on our green ammonia industry: AMEA Power put pen to paper at COP27 for a 390k-ton per-year green ammonia plant that could be up and running by the end of 2025 at its 500 MW green hydrogen plant in Ain Sokhna.

This is the latest in a string of green finance flowing into Egypt: The government managed to secure some USD 10.3 bn worth of climate funding agreements at COP27 for its flagship Nexus on Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) program, which seeks to implement some USD 15 bn worth of projects to turbocharge the country’s green transition. The government will also be looking to drum up a whopping USD 119 bn to fund green hydrogen and wind power projects on which it signed initial agreements at the climate summit.

The news got attention in the foreign press: Reuters | Bloomberg.