The Benban Solar Park in Egypt is the largest solar farm in Africa, covering an area of 14 square miles (37 square kilometres) in the Aswan desert.
It cost £3 billion to construct and was completed in 2019.
The solar complex consists of 41 individual plants and has a capacity of 1.8 gigawatts, enough to power hundreds of thousands of Egyptian homes.
Benban is part of Egypt’s Nubian Suns Feed-In Tariff program, an initiative to promote renewable energy by encouraging private sector investment.
The solar park also plays a vital role in Egypt’s Sustainable Energy Strategy 2035, which aims to ensure that 42 percent of the country’s electricity comes from renewable energy by 2035.
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The solar park’s construction provided big economic benefits, creating over 20,000 jobs during the building phase.
Once operational, it reduced carbon emissions by two million tonnes per year.
The facility is so large that it can be seen from space. Its impact has also helped reduce the cost of solar photovoltaic systems in Egypt. It has provided valuable experience to local workers in installing and maintaining solar energy infrastructure.
The project was supported by various international backers, including the Green Climate Fund, the European Union, and the World Bank, with financing from various development banks.
However, despite the park’s massive scale, it currently powers around 420,000 homes.
While the project was a big achievement in renewable energy in Africa, there are still challenges in encouraging wider adoption of solar power across Egypt, particularly in densely populated areas like Cairo.
Many Egyptians lack the financial resources to install solar panels on their homes, and experts argue that government incentives will be necessary to make solar energy more attractive to consumers.
