Egypt’s Benban Park is a Classification of Clean Energy Production in Africa and One of the Largest Solar Parks in the World

By Abdul Rahman Bangura-

Solar Plant
Photo Credit: Oliytech Solar

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS (NABN) Freetown, Sierra Leone– The Benban Park expands over an area of 37 square kilometers near the “desert road” between Aswan and Cairo. Initiated in 2018 with the commissioning of the first photovoltaic plant, this mega-project has been incorporated into the strategy generated by the Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority.

The purpose is to deliver in improving the share of renewable energy in its electricity mix to 42% by 2035. The park independently lessens carbon emissions by two million tons per year.

“The first time I came here, there was nothing but sand,” observes Mostafa Abdel fatah, the Project Manager. “But the sunshine immediately struck me as a great opportunity to produce clean energy. Benban is now one of the largest solar parks in the world, with millions of photovoltaic panels, providing electricity to more than one mia million homes,” he mumbled.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) funded the solar park with $55 million. The park comprises 34 solar power plants, each with a capacity of 50 megawatts. At full capacity, it will produce 3.8 terawatt hours of electricity annually. The project established at least 20,000 jobs during the formation period, with an extra 6,000 stable positions by the companies regulating the park.

Engineer Hadeer Khalifa, the site accomplishment and monitoring analyst, has endured the very high local textures, sometimes up to 50° Celsius, by working on the site since its start-up in 2018. She monitors the performance of the photovoltaic panels.

“My colleagues had warned me that I would have to work under a blazing sun, in conditions that were difficult to bear,” she recalls. “I told them I wanted to give it a try. I can say that I have grown a lot in this job and they are very proud of that,” she says with a smile.

Khalifa added: “I’ve learned a lot in the last four years and gained a lot of experience from the engineers at the site and the different companies I’ve worked with. And when you feel valued, when management appreciates your work, it’s heart-warming.”

In Benban, the Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority have approved 39 firms drudging in energy production a 25-yehaveright to operate the property and its facilities.

There are similar plans by the local administrations of Aswan to transfer Benban Industrial High Sol into a solar energy school that will empower training on the diverse facets of solar energy and electromechanical engineering.

The Benban solar park could evolve a criterion of clean energy production in Africa as the mainland aspires to attain the UN strategy in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.

For New Africa Business News (NABN) Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports,  Africa Correspondent