By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.
Egypt is making another unmistakable statement to global markets: it want to participate in Africa’s clean-energy boom and lead it.
This week, Hassan Allam Utilities Energy Platform, Infinity Power, and Meridiam signed agreements with Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) to build 1.2 GW of solar capacity paired with 720 MWh of battery storage. It’s one of the continent’s most significant renewable commitments this year.
Two Sites, One Strategy: Scale + Storage
The projects include:
- 200 MW solar + 120 MWh battery in Benban (operational target: Q3 2026)
- 1,000 MW solar + 600 MWh battery in Minya (operational target: Q3 2027)
This is architecture. Solar + storage means Egypt is building reliability and grid resilience, the Achilles heel of many developing-market renewable strategies. And while other countries debate the sequencing of “generation first vs grid first,” Egypt is quietly doing both.
This marks Hassan Allam Utilities Energy Platform’s second major renewable project in Egypt, backed in part by the EBRD, a partner that has already invested over €13 billion into the country’s infrastructure.
The platform now boasts:
- 2.3 GW under development (COD 2026–2027)
- 1.65 GW additional pipeline
- ~$3.5 billion combined investment pipeline
In a continent where renewable ambition often outpaces execution, Egypt’s strategy is methodical and bankable. Across Africa, governments often announce big renewable projects that never get built. Egypt is different. Its plans are deliberate. When it says a solar or wind farm will come online, investors can count on it.
Infinity Power, Africa’s largest renewable developer isn’t slowing down. With this deal, the company advances toward its target of 10GW of renewable capacity by 2030 across Egypt, South Africa, and Senegal.
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“These projects reaffirm Infinity Power’s commitment to driving Egypt’s clean energy transformation,” said Ahmed Mulla, Deputy CEO.
North Africa holds some of the world’s best solar potential, yet remains heavily dependent on gas for power. This project and others like it are more than infrastructure announcements. They’re geopolitical markers.
They reduce domestic fossil burn.
They preserve export-grade gas revenue.
They attract climate-aligned capital.
They build continental energy independence.
If there’s a lesson here for the rest of Africa, it’s that global capital rewards clarity. Egypt has moved past “we have great sunlight” rhetoric into structured, scaled execution.
As Omar Hosny of Hassan Allam Utilities put it, this deal diversifies the energy mix and strengthens grid resilience — fundamentals that determine whether Africa becomes a renewable powerhouse or remains a margin player.
The continent doesn’t lack sunlight. It lacks long-term industrial policy and investment discipline.