Infinity Power and HAU Energy have secured a debt financing package of up to $566 million for Nefer Minya, a 1.2 gigawatt solar plant with a 600 megawatt hour battery storage system in Minya, Egypt. The sponsors say it will be the largest solar power plant in Egypt and Africa. Output will be sold to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company under a 25 year power purchase agreement, and the plant is expected to supply more than 1.4 million homes and avoid over 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development arranged up to $265 million of the package: $160 million from its own funds, $75 million mobilised from the Bank of Jordan, and up to $30 million in concessional financing from the Clean Technology Fund. DEG of Germany, FMO of the Netherlands and Proparco of France provided the remaining financing. EnterpriseAM reported total project cost of about $764 million, leaving roughly $198 million of equity for the sponsors by its calculation.
The borrowing vehicle, Nefer Menya for Renewable Energy, is owned 51 percent by Infinity Power, the joint venture between Infinity and Masdar, and 49 percent by HAU Energy, the platform of Hassan Allam Utilities, according to EnterpriseAM. Infinity Power is targeting 10 gigawatts of operating renewable capacity by 2032. The financing is a clear case of development finance institutions underwriting a strategic asset at a scale and tenor Egypt’s commercial market does not currently offer.