The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it is arranging a loan of up to $265 million for Nefer Menya for Renewable Energy, the special purpose vehicle developing a 1.2 GW solar plant and 600 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Minya, Egypt.
The EBRD loan consists of a $160 million A-loan from the bank’s own funds, a $75 million B-loan from Bank of Jordan and up to $30 million in concessional financing from the Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund under its Global Energy Storage Program.
Bank of Jordan said it is participating as both a B-loan lender and original hedge counterparty. Germany’s DEG, the Dutch development bank FMO and France’s Proparco are co-financing the project as part of an aggregate debt package of up to $566 million, according to the EBRD.
The EBRD’s project disclosure puts the plant at 1,000 MW (AC) and total project cost at $764 million. AIKO said in June that it had been selected as sole module supplier, providing all-back-contact (ABC) modules for 1.2 GWp of capacity.
Nefer Menya is 51% owned by Infinity Power Holding and 49% by HAU Energy, according to the EBRD disclosure. Infinity Power is a joint venture of Egypt’s Infinity and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar, in which the EBRD holds an equity stake. HAU Energy is owned by Meridiam, Hassan Allam Utilities and the EBRD.
Electricity will be sold to Egyptian Electricity Transmission Co. under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The battery will store daytime solar output for use during peak demand after sunset, the EBRD said, describing the project as one of Egypt’s first to pair large-scale solar with battery storage.
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