Ministry of Electricity, Iraq is moving forward on two new solar power agreements. Talks are in the final stage with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power to build a 1,000 megawatt (MW) solar plant in Najaf. At the same time, the ministry is working with UAE-based Masdar to build four solar projects across the country with a total capacity of 1,000 MW. Iraq has recently begun construction on its largest solar power plant to date. The 1,000 MW Basra Sun project broke ground in March 2025. This facility will be one of the largest of its kind in the region once completed.…
Author: Lakshita Kapoor
AMEA Power has completed a 500-megawatt wind power project in Ras Ghareb, located in Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate. This plant is now operational. It joins AMEA Power’s previously launched 500-megawatt solar project in Aswan, commissioned in November 2024. Both projects together bring AMEA Power’s total commissioned capacity in Egypt to 1 gigawatt. The Ras Ghareb wind plant was built through a joint venture between AMEA Power, which holds 60%, and Sumitomo Corporation, which holds 40%. The wind facility is projected to produce about 2,500 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year. This output can supply electricity to over 500,000 homes and is…
Aljomaih Energy and Water Company, along with France-based TotalEnergies Renewables, has completed financial closure for the Rabigh 2 Solar Independent Power Plant in Saudi Arabia. The project has a capacity of 300 megawatts (MW). The total investment for the project is around 825 million Saudi riyals, which is approximately 220 million U.S. dollars. The project comes under the fifth round of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP), overseen by the Ministry of Energy. A 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was signed in December 2024 between the consortium and the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC). The solar power plant is scheduled…
ACME Cleantech Solutions from India is building a solar-powered green ammonia project in Duqm, Oman. To help the sun do more work, the company has teamed up with Arctech from China. The two companies have signed a contract for 175 megawatt-peak (MWp) of solar trackers. The equipment will arrive in batches starting July 2025. These solar trackers, called Skyline II, are built to follow the sun as it moves across the sky. They tilt and rotate to get the best sunlight during the day. They are also designed to handle sandstorms, high temperatures, strong winds, and the dry desert air…
ACWA Power has signed several new agreements in Malaysia. These were announced during the ASEAN-GCC Summit held in Kuala Lumpur. The agreements include a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and Strategic Partnership Agreements (SPAs) with companies including Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Terengganu Inc., and UEM Lestra. The MoU with MIDA outlines plans to explore power projects with up to 12.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity in Malaysia by 2040. The projects are expected to involve an estimated investment of up to 10 billion U.S. dollars. ACWA Power and its partners will focus on developing clean…
Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Egypt, Mahmoud Esmat, held a meeting with Minister for Foreign Trade and International Development Cooperation, Sweden, Benjamin Dousa, at the Ministry’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital. The session was attended by Swedish Ambassador Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt, Gaber Desouky of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, Mona Rizk of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, senior government officials, and representatives of Egyptian Swedish energy ventures. The meeting focused on multiple areas. These included the development of renewable electricity projects, the need for energy storage systems, technology sharing, and grid connections with other countries. One of the topics…
Saudi Arabia is adding more electricity through two new power projects in its eastern region. The Ghazlan 2 and Hajar Expansion plants are being upgraded with new equipment to support future energy needs. These plants, once completed, will each supply around 2,900 megawatts of power to the national grid. Doosan Enerbility, a company from South Korea, will supply steam turbines and generators to both plants. These turbines help turn heat into electricity. The company signed deals worth about $247.5 million. The contracts were made with two other companies helping build the plants: Técnicas Reunidas from Spain and Orascom from Egypt.…
In July 2022, Finland introduced a new way to store energy. A company called Polar Night Energy, along with local utility Vatajankoski, built the first commercial sand battery in the town of Kankaanpää. The battery uses sand to store heat. It is kept inside a 7-meter-high steel tank, filled with around 100 tons of sand. When extra solar or wind power is available, the battery heats air to about 600°C. The hot air warms the sand. Later, the heat is used in the town’s district heating system. This sand battery provides 100 kilowatts of heating. It can store up to…
Egypt has shared new plans to raise the share of green investments in its public budget. According to statements made during the Arab Sustainability Expo, the government aims to allocate 50% of total public investments to green projects in the fiscal year 2024/2025. The total value of these projects is expected to reach around $14.7 billion. By 2030, the target is to raise the share of green projects to 75%. These plans follow Egypt’s Environmental Sustainability Standards Guide, which is applied to all state-funded projects. The green investment approach includes several sectors. These cover renewable energy projects based on wind…
Morocco is moving forward with expanding its national electricity network. The country’s main electricity and water agency, ONEE, has confirmed new funding to support this effort. Two international banks are providing the financing. One is the European Investment Bank. The other is the German development bank known as KfW. Together, they are lending €300 million. The project includes extending the national grid by 731 kilometers. It also involves increasing the power system’s ability to handle more electricity by 1,850 MVA. The plan is part of Morocco’s wider energy development roadmap running through 2030. The money will help prepare the grid…