Egypt inaugurated a US$500 million solar plant in the southern city of Aswan on Saturday as part of its push to boost renewable energy production after last summer’s severe power outages.

The Abydos Solar PV Plant, which was developed by Dubai-based energy company AMEA Power, has a capacity of 500 megawatts and was completed in just 18 months.

The plant is expected to generate 1,500 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually, enough to power about 300,000 households while offsetting 782,300 tonnes of CO2 emissions, according to AMEA Power.

The project is a “pivotal step in boosting the use of renewable energy in Egypt”, and part of a “national strategy aimed at reducing reliance on traditional energy sources”, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said at the plant’s commissioning ceremony on Saturday.

The premier added that the project would also support the government’s efforts to curb summer power cuts, which have become frequent during periods of high electricity demand.

Last summer, Egypt faced daily power cuts lasting up to three hours, driven by high cooling demand as temperatures soared.

The solar plant “will accelerate Egypt’s green power strategy and help it deal with power shortages that took place over the past year”, said the chairman of AMEA Power, Hussain Al Nowais, adding that the first electricity from the plant was delivered to the national grid last week.

The project was funded by the International Finance Corporation, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Aswan, known for its year-round high solar radiation, is already home to the 1,650-megawatt Benban Solar Park, one of the largest solar installations in Africa and the Middle East, which was inaugurated in 2019.

On Saturday, the Egyptian government also signed a power purchase and land agreement with AMEA Power for an additional 500-megawatt wind power project worth US$600 million in Ras Shukeir, north of Hurghada in the Red Sea.

The Egyptian government plans to increase renewable energy’s share in its power mix to 42 per cent by 2030, from 11.5 per cent as of 2023, according to prime minister Madbouly.