Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli inaugurated on Saturday 14/12/2024 Abydos 1 Solar PV Park project in Kom Ombo in Aswan governorate.

Abydos Kom Ombo Solar PV Park has a capacity of 500 megawatts and an investment of $500 million and is considered a symbol of sustainability in Egypt.

The plant spans 10 square kilometers and boasts over 1 million solar cells, 1,920 sub-transformers, and 64 substations. It also houses two main transformers, each with a capacity of 300 MW and weighing 255 tons, the largest of their kind in Africa and the Middle East. The project also includes a 300 MW-hour Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).

The project's construction began in March 2023 and mainly relied on Egyptian expertise. Egyptian employees made up 95% of the project management and 100% of the labor force.

The plant provides electricity to 256,000 households while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 760 tons annually.

The solar plant was financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Dutch Development Bank (FMO), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), with Power China serving as the project’s main contractor.

The key components of the project are the power arrays which are composed of PV panels which convert solar energy (radiation from the sun) into electricity. Each array is equipped with a horizontal single-axis beam tracker which carries the array and orients it towards the sun throughout the day to maximize the amount of energy produced.