Al Subh Solar Power

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The project is a greenfield 50 MW photovoltaic (PV) plant as part of Round 2 of the Egyptian Government feed-in-tariff (FiT) scheme for domestic solar PV and wind energy projects.  The project is being developed by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) owned by a Joint Venture (JV) consortium of Acciona Energía Global and ENARA Bahrain SPV (consisting of Swicorp, KCC Corporation and the Shoaibi Group).  The project SPV will be owned 50% by Acciona Energia and 50% by ENARA (investment vehicle of Swicorp).  This JV consortium is “the Sponsors”, however Acciona will be responsible for quality and environmental, social, health and safety management (ESHS) oversight of the Project. The Sponsors will own the project company “Al Subh Solar Power S.A.E.”, and has selected TBEA as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contractor.  The total project cost is up to US$70-75 million with an IFC A loan of up to US$17.5-20 million and syndications of up to US$45 million, and the balance covered by equity. The project will be located within Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Agency (NREA)’s 37.2 km2 Benban 1.8 GW PV solar park comprising 39 separate PV plots, situated 12 km west of the nearest village (Benban), and 15 km west of the Nile River.  It is 40 km northwest of Aswan city, in the Aswan Governorate of Upper Egypt.  The project occupies a 97-hectare plot (SBN 28-4) located in the fourth row within the southern area of the Benban PV solar park.  The Benban PV solar park is being constructed on open desert land that is owned by the Government of Egypt.  The area is mainly flat, with sand and gravel dunes, and with no notable natural vegetation and no human activities, and all of the 39 PV development sites are greenfield.  Three developers were qualified from Round 1, and one has started some preliminary works and constructed some basic facilities on the site including office, dispensary, workers resting area, and installed underground septic tanks, none of which are yet operational.  There are two access roads connecting to the Aswan-Luxor Highway, approximately 1 km away from the solar park.  There will also be a road network on-site, which would be developed by NREA  The project includes the construction by EETC of an approximately 1 km underground 22 kV transmission line connecting the project to substation 4 (SS4), the nearest of four EETC high voltage substations, (on the southeastern corner of the Benban PV solar park. Substation SS4 is expected to be fully constructed by December 2017. The underground transmission line right-of-way will follow the route of internal Benban PV solar park roads and be installed by EETC. Substation SS4 will be initially connected to the 220 kV high voltage overhead line located approximately 12 km east of the Benban PV solar park, until upgrades are made to the high voltage line. To evacuate the energy produced by the 39 projects located at the solar park, in addition to the underground connections and substations, EETC will also be responsible for designing and building 220 kV overhead transmission lines that will connect the solar park to existing transmission corridors. At a later stage, an additional 180 km double circuit 500 kV transmission line will be constructed by EETC north of the site. EETC will be responsible for the procurement and development of the corresponding environmental and social assessments (ESIAs) for all the elements listed above. Water for the project will be supplied by groundwater wells licensed by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI). Water distribution in the Benban PV solar park will be managed by the Benban PV solar park’s facilities management company (FMC). As mentioned in the section on PS1 below, the proposed FMC will be hired to undertake or direct the management of cross cutting construction and operation activities for all the Benban PV solar park on behalf of the solar developers.  This approach will assist in ensuring that E&S risks are managed consistently and there is a well-managed and coordinated response to overarching cumulative issues such as occupational health and safety, transport / traffic management, security, community engagement and corporate social responsibility, and labor, worker welfare and accommodation, among others. The project will be comprised of a single axis tracking system of approximately 182,790 PV panels with a nominal capacity of 50 MW AC and a peak capacity of 59.4 MW DC.  Power will be sent to inverters and fed into the utility power grid system through the EETC substation.  Project procurement and construction will take place by approximately November 2017, and the plant will be operational for a 25-year period, with options to extend the lease after that date.  The FMC will be responsible for managing water and wastewater services, waste management services, logistics and overarching security services, and worker accommodation, all of which will be developed once the FMC is appointed.  It is anticipated that approximately 500 workers will be employed at the project during construction, and 15 workers during operation, as well as 20 security personnel.