One solar project just bit the dust: A 50-MW solar plant in Aswan has been called off by the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) in a bid to reduce the government’s financing burdens, Bloomberg Asharq reported, citing three unnamed officials from the authority. The Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development had agreed in 2017 to put up the bulk of the capital for the KWD 34.5 mn project, with the NREA covering just 25% of the project’s cost.

The problem? The NREA doesn’t want to take on any new debt. The authority is working to pay off debts to a number of creditors and doesn’t want to increase its financing burdens, one of the sources said.

It has been a good month for Egypt’s renewables sector: The cancellation comes a few weeks after the government secured some USD 10 bn in funding for renewable energy projects at COP27. Initial agreements worth USD 119 bn for green hydrogen and wind power projects were signed by the government with global players during the summit last month.