French EDF Renewables partners with Egypt's KarmSolar

CAIRO - 25 November 2019: French EDF Group announced Monday that its renewable energy subsidiary EDF Renewables entered into a strategic partnership with Egypt's KarmSolarin the development of solar power distribution in Egypt.

KarmSolar is a developer and supplier of solar power in Egypt, and itplays a role in the emerging solar Independent Power Producer (IPP) market. The company secures PPAs and solar distribution contracts with large commercial, agricultural and industrial clients.

KarmSolar currently holds a portfolio in Egypt close to 170 MW of solar PV plant projects in operations, under construction and advanced development. These solar projects take part in achieving the Egyptian Government’s target that aims at generating 42 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2035, according to the EDF announcement.

The company clarified ina press release that upon this partnership its subsidiary will inject capital to take a strategic equity stake in KarmSolar through a reserved capital increase.

"This investment will allow KarmSolar to implement its ambitious development plan in the country,which includes expanding its portfolio of solar plants and providing power to commercial, agricultural and industrial clients through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) or distribution contracts," it stated.

In addition, this investment contributes to EDF Group's goal under the CAP 2030 strategy to double its renewable energy capacity worldwide to 50 GW net between 2015 and 2030, according to the company.

“We are delighted to establish this partnership to support KarmSolar in the delivery of its innovative business model. This partnership is fully in line with EDF Renewables strategy to offer relevant solutions helping commercial &industrial customers achieve their low carbon ambitions through the production and consumption of a competitive renewable energy," Executive VP International Operations for EDF Renewables, Frederic Belloy, said.

Belloyadded that this investment also comes in compliance with EDF international strategy, where North Africa represents a great potential for development. Following the recent commissioning of our 130 MWp solar power plants in Benban, the investment will further strengthen our long-term development strategy in Egypt.

For his part, CEO of KarmSolar Ahmed Zahran stated that this investment constitutes a new major step to support growth, expressing his company's confidence that EDF Renewables is the right partner to help take KarmSolar to the next phase of its expansion.

“Throughout our conversations with EDF Renewables, it was very clear that they believed in what we want to achieve – which is to promote renewable energy and to make solar power more accessible,”Zahran noted.

Moreover, Chairman of KarmSolar Amr el-Sawaf said, "This is a major milestone for the development of our company, that ambitions to propel its expansion forward. EDF Renewables is not only an investor, but a strategic partner whose global expertise will extend KarmSolar’s local reach and further increase its technical capabilities."

Sawaf added that this investment will also boost the private Egyptian solar market, thus supporting the government in implementing its vision of becoming a renewable energy hub for the region.

EDF Renewables has provided renewables solutions to environmentally-conscious commercial &industrial clients for more than 10 years now. The company's clients include Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Yahoo, Nivea, Danone, Coca Cola, Nestlé, Wahaha, and Tesco.