A solar energy company spearheading a solar-plus-storage project in Egypt has secured $2.4 million in financing for the project.
KarmSolar secured the $2.4 million from Qatar National Bank ALAHLI, while Ezdaher Financial Advisory assisted with the deal.
KarmSolar’s co-founder and CEO Ahmed Zahran described the project as “Egypt’s first financed solar battery PPA project”, adding: “There is rising interest from established financial institutions to explore and support advanced solar technologies. This new milestone will definitely boost the deployment of battery solutions in Egypt and across the region on a much larger scale.’’
The financing comes as KarmSolar launches a phase 2 expansion of a solar microgrid solution at a poultry farm facility in Giza, operated by Cairo 3A. The expansion includes the addition of a battery energy storage system and an expansion of the solar plant’s capacity.
Sungrow will provide the battery storage unit and the energy storage system will comprise a 2.576MWp PV inverter and 1MW/3.957MWh of storage.
The solar energy company has a PPA to supply electricity to the poultry farm using a microgrid combining solar PV, storage and diesel generators. The original on-site solar PV station covers 30% of Cairo 3A’s energy needs using renewable energy, reducing its reliance on diesel.
It is not the first solar-plus-storage project in Egypt, however. A project combining 30MW of solar PV with a 7.5MW battery storage system is also being supplied by Sungrow. A german developer and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor will be delivering the project.
