The construction of the first parabolic trough solar field in Egypt commenced recently.

The project, which is a hybrid power plant with an output of 150 MW, is located in Kuraymat south of Cairo and uses both natural gas and solar-thermal energy.

After its completion in summer 2010, the power plant will contribute to securing the electricity supply in the Cairo region.

Design and construction of the solar field are carried out by the Egyptian general contractor, Orascom Construction Industries, together with the German technology company, Flagsol GmbH (Cologne), a subsidiary of Solar Millennium AG (Erlangen, Germany).

Klaas Rühmann, senior project manager at Flagsol, said the location of the hybrid power plant, on the banks of the Nile, 95 Kilometers south of Cairo, with an annual direct-normal irradiation of over 2,400 Kilowatt hours per square meter, is ideal for using solar-thermal power plants.

"In hybrid operation, both fossil fuels are reduced and electricity supplies are secured to the highest possible degree," said Rühmann.

The solar field consists of parabolic troughs with a total mirror surface area of 130,000 square meters. The collector rows, six meters wide and 150 meters long, are assembled on-site, segment by segment, in a purpose-built assembly facility. The same technology is being used in the Andasol power plants by Flagsol.

The development underlines the fact that the significance of solar-thermal power generation in the Middle East and North Africa is also growing. Besides Egypt power plant projects or public tenders have also been undertaken by the authorities in Algeria, Morocco, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. With this, the first OPEC countries are placing their stake in this technology.

The the pertinently timed CSP, CPV & Thin Film Solar Technologies Summit MENA on June 2-3 in Abu Dhabi promises to help establish crucial relationships between stakeholders in the solar industry in the MENA region.

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