EBRD arranges financing for 1.2 GW Minya solar and battery project

Egypt’s Minya region is set to host a 1.2 GW solar power plant paired with a 600 MWh battery system, following an EBRD-backed financing package announced on 20 October. The EBRD is arranging up to US$265 million for Nefer Menya, a project company owned by Infinity Power and HAU Energy, within aggregate debt financing of up to US$566 million alongside DEG, FMO and Proparco. The project is designed to store daytime solar generation and release electricity after sunset, addressing grid reliability as well as generation capacity. The announcement describes the facility as the largest solar PV project in Egypt and Africa. Financing is being arranged for construction and operation; the project is prospective, not yet an operating asset. The package includes a US$160 million EBRD A-loan, a US$75 million B-loan mobilised from Bank of Jordan and up to US$30 million from the Clean Technology Fund. Electricity will be sold to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company under a 25-year power purchase agreement. The EBRD projects annual avoided emissions of more than 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 and output sufficient for more than 1.4 million homes. These are expected benefits, not measured operating results. The investment also supports the energy pillar of Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food and Energy initiative, launched at COP27, which targets 10 GW of private renewable capacity alongside retirement of 5 GW of inefficient fossil-fuel capacity. Clean Technology Fund support includes two nationally accredited green-skills training programmes for young labour-market entrants in Minya, beyond the concessional loan. Nexus analysis: Pairing solar capacity with storage makes the timing of delivered electricity part of the project’s value proposition. The battery’s 600 MWh rating measures energy storage, whereas the plant’s 1.2 GW rating measures generating capacity; they are not interchangeable output figures.