Egypt has announced plans to invest up to $1 billion to develop several major solar energy projects.
Local and Administrative Development Minister Adel Labib recently expressed the country’s interest on solar investments at a conference organized by the city’s Chamber of Commerce.
Labib said Egypt is in need of establishing development projects in order to offer more job opportunities to young people. These projects will also reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels, Labib said.
Recently Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development Mostafa Madbouly announced plans to install PV arrays on some government buildings as part of the country’s effort to reduce stress on Egypt’s strained electrical grid, according to Daily News Egypt, which cited an official statement.
Madbouly has signed an agreement with the New Urban Communities Authority and the Information and Decision Support Center to provide technical and financial assistance for the project.  The project is part of the government’s Shamsak ya Masr (Egypt’s Sun) initiative.
Under the Shamsak ya Masr project, solar panels will be installed on the roof of the New Urban Communities Authority building to help generate power for lighting as well as to increase the overall capacity of the electricity grid, according to the statement.
With solar, the country would be able to reduce energy consumption to the lowest level possible. The government is planning to increase the share of new and renewable energy to 20 percent by 2020.