Egypt is serious about benefiting from the solar energy as the power and energy sector is working on establishing a photovoltaic solar plant in Aswan's Kom Ombo town, said Electricity Minister Hassan Younis. 

The move is part of Egypt's strategy on diversifying the sources of energy in light of the electoral platform of President Hosni Mubarak, Younis said.

The said plant, which costs four billion pounds, will produce 100 megawatts of energy, a report by the electricity ministry said. The plant will be financed by the African Development Fund and the United Nation's Clean Development Mechanism carbon offsetting scheme, the report said.

The country is also building three power generation projects; a 200-MW capacity wind plant, a 50-MW solar thermal energy plant and a 20-MW photovoltaic cells plant, the report said. Egypt aims at generating twenty percent of its energy needs from renewable energy by the year 2020.
(SIS)

Global Arab Network