Solar power providing desalinated clean water to Egyptian farmers – That is the essence of the investment agreement signed at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Cairo, in the presence of H.E Ambassador Mrs. Hilde Klemetsdal on the 10th of Oct 2022. The agreement was signed between Engazaat – a leading Egyptian solar-water developer and Empower New Energy – a leading renewable investment platform company. The agreement is a key element in the partners’ preparation for the climate summit COP 27 taking place in Sharm El Sheikh in November this year, where the topic; “Water, Energy, Food” will be high on the agenda.
In the agreement, Empower New Energy will provide equity financing for the 2.2MWp ground mounted solar power plant that will supply electricity to the desalination and storage facilities, located in the Mohgra Oasis in Northern Egypt. By focusing on “solar for water” development, the investment enables small and medium sized Egyptian farmers to export their organic produce locally and to European markets. The plant will produce 4.4GWh of clean electricity yearly and save more than 1,600 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
To enable 24 x 7 “water-as-a-service” for small farmers, the solar power plant will integrate with the long duration thermal energy storage system developed by the Swedish company Azelio as well as the desalination systems provided by the French company Mascara.
Engazaat’s CEO, Muhammad El Demerdash; “The project demonstrates the multilateral will to alleviate poverty and hunger for more than 25,000 small farmers in one of the most water sensitive regions in the world. They no longer need to go through the technical hurdles of finance, implementation, operation and maintenance of sophisticated clean energy and water utilities; they will only pay for what they consume on Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) bases. We have worked closely with our international partners to mitigate the associated risks, create a circular and agronomically feasible investment structure. In the past two years, we have raised more than USD 17 millions of local and foreign direct investments in solar/water developments. We also foresee a portfolio of projects that is worth more than USD 100 million in Egypt, Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa” he added
Empower New Energy, Founder and CEO, Terje Osmundsen states; “Empower New Energy is honoured to partner with Engazaat in developing this solar-for-water micro-grid solution. We believe this partnership offers a great potential for supplying local farmers with desalinated water and supplied with 24/7 solar energy across Egypt and many countries in Africa.
Norway’s Ambassador to Egypt, H.E. Ms. Hilde Klemetsdal, added; “I’m honoured to witness the signing of this agreement between two leading companies. Norway’s Empower New Energy and Engazaat Egypt, to cooperate on the sustainable transformation of deserts into arable lands. A project that is 100% powered by clean energy simultaneously achieves sustainable agriculture and clean energy transition. The project does not just reduce emissions, it unlocks productive uses for marginalized lands and the potential of small farmers in facing the challenges of food security and climate change.”
ABOUT Engazaat
Engazaat is Egypt’s first integrated and independent power and water producer, developer, and operator founded in 2011. Our mission is to enable commercial and industrial (C-&-I) businesses with cleantech, energy and water utilities bundled with innovative financial solutions.
The company’s portfolio to date includes 63MW of solar energy developments, 350 MW of solar energy projects in pipeline, 15 million cubic meters of water produced and managed annually, with operations primarily in Egypt, and expanding to MEA.
Our tagline “Transforming Sahara” sums up our ambition to greenify Sahara through our decentralized and scalable business model.
ABOUT Empower New Energy
Empower New Energy is a Norwegian award-winning renewable energy and investment company focusing on the commercial and industrial sector in Africa, with offices and operations in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Nigeria.
The company has built a portfolio of eight solar plants in North and West Africa and has recently signed a 74 MUSD investment agreement with Climate Investor One and Norfund for the financing of a pipeline of more than 150 MW C-&-I projects in North and Sub-Saharan Africa.
