Four projects got the all clear to sell renewable energy directly to industrial players

Electricity market liberalization gets serious: The Electricity Ministry issued qualification certificates to four renewable energy projects under the country’s peer-to-peer (P2P) system, clearing the way for companies to directly generate and sell power to industrial consumers, according to a statement. The four 100 MW certified wind and solar projects have a total investment of USD 388 mn.

We had an idea this was coming: A government source told us earlier this month that the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) approved five private renewable energy players for electricity sale licenses.

How it works: Under the P2P model, each company will develop and operate its own power station, selling electricity directly to clients while paying a wheeling fee to the EETC for grid usage. The state will not provide any guarantees or cover costs.

The four projects: Neptune will power the Suez Steel plant with solar energy; AMEA Power will supply solar power to both the Suez Canal Container Terminal and chemical manufacturer Befar Group; TAQA PV for Solar Energy will deliver electricity from a hybrid solar-wind plant to Ezz Steel; and Enara Group will provide Helwan Fertilizer Company and the Alamein Silicon Products Complex with power from its hybrid plant.

Private players have been waiting for this move: Some 20 private sector energy players — including Infinity, KarmSolar, and Norway’s Scatec — voiced their interest last year in supplying electricity to other private sector companies through renewable energy projects under the P2P system.

REFRESHER- The EETC separated from the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) last month as part of a broader plan to liberalize the electricity market by turning the state’s electricity companies into market regulators and opening the door for the private sector to both produce and buy electricity from each other.