The Egyptian government has made its first payment, amounting to EGP 1,874, for home-generated solar power, VetoGate reported. According to Hisham Tawfik, chairman of Cairo Solar, he received the payment after providing two months’ worth of energy generated by solar panels installed on the roof of his Fifth Settlement home. Although Tawfik had the panels installed and connected to the government’s power grid in May, he only received the payment this week due to paperwork delays. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy introduced a feed-in tariff system in October of last year to encourage private investment in renewable energy. Through this system, regular citizens can install solar energy panels atop their buildings and connect these panels to the government’s power grid in exchange for monthly payments for generating power. According to state media Al-Ahram Online, the feed-in rates depend on each station’s output. Households receive EGP 0.848 (USD 0.11) per kilowatt-hour, while commercial producers receive between EGP 0.901 to EGP 0.973 (USD 0.12), depending on output levels. Tawfik said that a solar power station requires an initial investment of around EGP 65,000 and brings in EGP 11,000 of profit annually,…
Egyptian Government Makes First Payment for Home-Generated Solar Power
November 5, 2015
