Waste-to-energy projects could soon play an important role in our energy mix: The government is set to sign contracts with eight local-foreign consortiums to produce a total of 1.7 bn Kw/h of electricity from municipal solid waste across a number of governorates, Waste Management Regulatory Authority (WRMA) consultant Khaled Elfarra told Enterprise. The waste-to-energy (WtE) projects will come at a total cost of USD 900 mn-1.2 bn.

The companies in question: The firms and bodies involved in the projects include Infinity Power, Orascom Construction, Hassan Allam Holding, Taqa Arabia, Elsewedy Electric, the Arab Organization for Industrialization, the National Authority for Military Production, and Medaf Holding — all of which have linked up with foreign partners to implement the projects, Elfarra tells us.

The proposed projects will spread across the country: The WtE projects will be implemented in Giza, Alexandria, Gharbia, Beheira, Damietta, Fayoum, Sharqiya, and Menoufia, he added. The projects will collectively recycle around 3.5 mn tons of waste annually for energy production, Elfarra continued, adding that the government will be responsible for collecting and providing the waste for the firms to use in the production process.

To sweeten the waste-to-energy pot: The participating companies will be granted golden licenses from the government, as well as all the tax and non-tax incentives under the Investment Law. On top of this, the Environment Ministry is considering raising the feed-in tariff rate for WtE plants — the set price that the government pays for the electricity they generate — in a bid to make the sector more attractive to investors, Elfarra told us. The proposed price increase would see the feed-in-tariff rate rise to around EGP 2.35/Kwh — up from EGP 1.40/Kwh, which hasn’t changed since 2019. The tariff will fluctuate along with exchange rate fluctuations, he added.

What’s next? The proposed tariff increase has been sent to the Electricity Ministry to receive the greenlight and will then be forwarded to the cabinet, Elfarra added. Assuming the cabinet also greenlights the new tariff, the government will then ink the contracts with the companies.

But raising tariffs will strain the Electricity Ministry’s budget: While the tariff increase could help attract investors, it would mean that the Electricity Ministry will have to pay more for the energy produced. The tariff is shared between the Electricity Ministry and the governorate where each project takes place. The Electricity Ministry would need support from the Finance Ministry to bear the cost of the increase, if approved, one source at the Electricity Ministry told Al Mal.

Sounds familiar? The government has long been planning to boost electricity generation from municipal waste, initially setting a target back in 2020 of generating 300 MW of electricity from WtE projects by 2025. More recently, then Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in April 2023 that the state has eight waste-to-energy projects worth EGP 10 bn in the pipeline.

** Want more? We did a deep dive into where our waste-to-energy ambitions stand in a Going we published last year. Check out the story here.

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