Page 15 - AfrElec Week 26 2022
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AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec
MIGA suppports Virtuo
Finance’s solar park in Egypt
EGYPT THE Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency Securities.
(MIGA), the World Bank’s arm that guarantees The bond issuance was split into two tranches.
to protect investments against non-commercial The first, amounting to $250mn, was distributed
risk, has issued a nine-year guarantee of $98.3mn among the European Bank for Reconstruction
to Virtuo Finance (Virtuo) boosting the sustain- and Development (EBRD), and other Develop-
able refinancing of six operational solar power ment Finance Institutions.
plants in Egypt’s Benban Solar Park (Power A second tranche of $84.5mn was distributed
Plants) with an installed capacity of 380MW. to international private institutional investors.
The Power Plants are part of Egypt’s land- The second tranche is enhanced by MIGA’s polit-
mark Solar Feed-in-Tariff Programme (FiT ical risk insurance cover and a Liquidity Support
Programme), which has mobilized private Facility provided by EBRD.
investments in the country to build one of the Together, they provide credit enhancement
world’s largest PV generation parks. They are for the project that is essential for attracting pri-
contributing to meeting Egypt’s goal of gen- vate capital investment - especially major institu-
erating 20% of national electricity needs from tional investors who are mobilizing investment
renewable sources by 2022. contributions for the first time in Egypt.
They will be refinanced through the issuance MIGA’s 19-year guarantee covers Virtuo
of a first-of-its-kind green bond issued by Vir- against the risks of breach of contract, expropri-
tuo. The bond was assigned a rating of BBB+ by ation, war and civil disturbance, and currency
Scope Ratings, the leading European credit rat- transfer restriction.Arabia
ing agency. The issuance was arranged by MUFG
Tunisia’s €500,000
floating PV plant opens
TUNISIA TUNISIA’S €500,000 floating photovoltaic plant strategy is to achieve a 35% share of the energy
(FPV) started operations over the weekend to mix by 2030.
partially cover the energy needs of the coun- The target requires around TND10bn
try’s La Goulette region, according to state news ($3.3bn) in investments over the next eight years.
agency TAP. The country’s 2017-2022 renewable energy
The plant, built by Tunisian power utility programme is intended to reduce the energy use
STEG and the international Qair group, and of traditional sources by 30% and create facili-
stretching over an area of 2,500 square metres, ties to supply over 1,800 MW of electricity from
is the first of its kind in the MENA region. It can renewable sources. Tunisia’s national strategy for
produce 200 kW, which is enough for the con- solar power generation aims to reach 3,815 MW
sumption of nearly 130 households. The plant, of installed solar capacity by 2030, in order to
launched in September last year, will also help raise the share of solar in its power mix.
reduce pollution by eliminating 120 tonnes per In March this year, the Tunisian government
year (tpy) of carbon dioxide equivalent. granted licences to three international com-
Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines panies to produce 500 MW of electricity from
Neila Gonji said the country’s renewable energy renewables.
Week 26 30•June•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P15
