Sungrow Power Supply selected to supply inverters in Kom Ombo solar photovoltaic plant

EGYPT – Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, an independent power producer (IPP), has selected Chinese company Sungrow Power Supply to supply the inverters for the construction of Kom Ombo solar photovoltaic plant which will be operational in 2022.

The facility, which is being built by India’s Sterling and Wilson – which has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the plant, will have a capacity of 200 MWp into the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) grid., making it one of the largest solar power plants in Egypt.

Given the Saharan climate and the two-sided solar panels that are installed at the project site, the choice of inverters is critical.

“The Sungrow SG250HX-IN-20 inverter and its MVS6650-LV turnkey medium voltage station can withstand complex environments such as extreme temperatures, dry and dusty conditions. This is thanks to their IP66 and C5 protection rating and intelligent forced air-cooling technology,” says Sungrow.

Sungrow added that the inverters are compatible with two-sided solar panels and solar trackers. Sungrow’s entry into the project marks the effective start of construction of the Kom Ombo solar power plant.

Acwa Power has already secured the necessary financing for the installation of its plant. Loans totalling US$114 million have been provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Opec Fund for International Development (Ofid), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Arab International Investment Bank (AII).

Acwa Power plans to start commercial operation of its plant in the third quarter of 2022. The plant will supply 650 GWh per year to at least 130,000 Egyptian households. According to the Saudi energy company, the solar power plant will also avoid the emission of 336,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The Kom Ombo plant will be constructed less than 20km from Africa’s biggest solar park, the 1.8 GW Benban complex. Once operational, the new utility-scale plant will serve 130,000 households.

The plant will contribute to the Egyptian government’s target to generate 42 percent of the country’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2035 while delivering one of the lowest generation tariffs in Africa.