Egypt is planning to bring the first wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) projects under its feed-in tariff programme online by the end of 2015, according to Mohamed Salah Elsobki, Chairman of the National Renewable Energy Authority (NREA).

Letters of award are to be issued by the end of January, while the Egyptian authorities will meet with international financial institutions to discuss power purchasing agreements (PPAs) and financing arrangements on 27 January.

Qualified developers are racing to incorporate their special project vehicles and make down payments to transmission and distribution companies to cover some connection costs. This will allow construction of substation, lines and cables to serve the sites to begin.

“We are working on a first come, first served basis,” said Elsobki at a Middle East Solar Industry Association event at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. “We are hoping to approve projects in the next two months, and once we reach our target of 2000MW consortiums will be moved to the waiting list.”

Developers will then prepare a wishlist of available sites and more detailed technical and business references. NREA will allot land based on these submissions.

They plan to start civil works and environmental impact assessments immediately in order to speed up works at the site once developers take possession. Standard usufruct agreement should be available before the end of January, and draft PPAs have already been prepared.

Developers must also apply to the Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Agency (EgyptERA) for temporary permits. The process normally depend on monthly directors meetings, although NREA is pushing to expedite the process.

Financing will be the biggest challenge for developers, although some local consortiums are providing 100 per cent equity for their projects. A time limit of around a year is under discussion.

Egypt is hoping that a few developers can reach a financial close by mid-2015. Allowing six months for construction and engineering works, the first projects could come online by the end of 2015.

The final step will be to acquire permanent permits from EgyptERA.

Developers on the waiting list may have a second chance to participate if another developer stumbles at any of these hurdles.

“The pressure is on, but that is a good thing,” said Elsobki. “We have learned from the experiences of other countries, especially Jordan.” Developers in Jordan’s feed-in tariff scheme are yet to reach a financial close, despite signing PPAs in mid-2014.

“It’s a very optimistic timescale but it is possible,” said a developer on the scheme. “A lot depends on the length of negotiations between all the parties involved and the response of financial institutions and banks to the PPAs.”

Follow Philippa Wilkinson on Twitter: @Philippa_MEED