Cooperating on sustainable agriculture in Egypt
Empower New Energy signs an investment agreement with Engazaat Egypt to solarize desalinated water supply for Egyptian farmers.
Solar power providing desalinated clean water to Egyptian farmers – That is the essence of the investment agreement signed at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Cairo, in the presence of H.E Ambassador Mrs. Hilde Klemetsdal on the 10th of October 2022.
“I’m honored to witness the signing of this agreement between two leading companies. Norway’s Empower New Energy and Engazaat Egypt, to cooperate on the sustainable transformation of deserts into arable lands. A project that is 100% powered by clean energy simultaneously achieves sustainable agriculture and a clean energy transition. The project does not just reduce emissions, it unlocks productive uses for marginalized lands and the potential of small farmers in facing the challenges of food security and climate change.” says Norway’s Ambassador to Egypt, H.E. Ms. Hilde Klemetsdal
The agreement was signed between Engazaat – a leading Egyptian solar-water developer and Empower New Energy – a leading renewable investment platform company connected to the Energy Invented platform. The agreement is a critical element of the partners’ preparation for the climate summit COP 27 taking place in Sharm El Sheikh in November this year, where the topic; “Water, Energy, Food” will be high on the agenda.
Alleviating poverty and hunger
“The project demonstrates the multilateral will to alleviate poverty and hunger for more than 25,000 small farmers in one of the most water-sensitive regions in the world. They no longer need to go through the technical hurdles of finance, implementation, operation, and maintenance of sophisticated clean energy and water utilities; they will only pay for what they consume on Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) bases” says Engazaat’s CEO, Muhammad El Demerdash and adds:
“We have worked closely with our international partners to mitigate the associated risks and create a circular and agronomically feasible investment structure. In the past two years, we have raised more than USD 17 million in local and foreign direct investments in solar/water developments. We also foresee a portfolio of projects that is worth more than USD 100 million in Egypt, Saharan, and Sub-Saharan Africa” ”
Enabling export locally and globally
Empower New Energy and Engazaat Egypt teams at the investment agreement signing ceremony on 10th of October 2022. Photo: Private.
In the agreement, Empower New Energy will provide equity financing for the 2.2MWp ground-mounted solar power plant that will supply electricity to the desalination and storage facilities, located in the Mohgra Oasis in Northern Egypt.
“Empower New Energy is honored to partner with Engazaat in developing this solar-for-water micro-grid solution. We believe this partnership offers a great potential for supplying local farmers with desalinated water and supplied with 24/7 solar energy across Egypt and many countries in Africa” says Empower New Energy, Founder, and CEO, Terje Osmundsen.
By focusing on “solar for water” development, the investment enables small and medium-sized Egyptian farmers to export their organic produce locally and to European markets. The plant will produce 4.4GWh of clean electricity yearly and save more than 1,600 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
To enable 24 x 7 “water-as-a-service” for small farmers, the solar power plant will integrate with the long-duration thermal energy storage system developed by the Swedish company Azelio as well as the desalination systems provided by the French company Mascara.