Officials from Norway and Egypt have reached provisional terms to finance the Dandara Solar Power Project, a large-scale renewable energy initiative being developed and operated by Norwegian independent power producer Scatec in Egypt.
A letter of intent for project financing was signed earlier this week between Scatec’s subsidiary, Dandara Solar Energy Company, and a consortium of international lenders — the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The Dandara project, located in Nagaa Hammadi within the Qena Governorate of Upper Egypt, is designed to include 1.1GW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity and 200MWh of battery storage. In March 2025, Scatec signed a 25-year, US$650 million sovereign-backed power purchase agreement (PPA) with state-owned Egypt Aluminium, the country’s largest industrial electricity consumer and a major exporter to Europe.
The project’s output will help Egypt Aluminium comply with the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which comes into effect in 2026. According to Rania Al Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, the initiative is expected to boost Egypt’s renewable energy capacity by around 10GW by 2028.
The Dandara Solar Power Project forms part of Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) Program, which promotes collaboration between the government, international financial institutions, and private developers such as Scatec.
Scatec already operates six utility-scale solar plants within Egypt’s Benban Solar Park, contributing a combined 400MWdc to the grid and enhancing its total operational capacity to around 438MWdc in the country. The company is also advancing the 1.1GW/200MWh Obelisk solar-plus-storage project, with financing of US$479 million secured from the EBRD, AfDB, and British International Investment (BII), covering approximately 80% of its US$590 million cost.
The first phase of the Obelisk project will include 561MW of solar power and 100MW/200MWh of storage, expected to achieve commercial operation by the first half of 2026. The second phase will add 564MW of solar capacity, targeting commissioning in the second half of 2026.
Together, Scatec’s Dandara and Obelisk projects underscore Norway’s continued support for Egypt’s renewable transition and mark significant milestones in Africa’s clean energy investment landscape.
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