EBRD Provides $63 Million for the First Phase of Egypt’s Dandara Solar Plant
The EBRD is providing $63 million to Dandara Solar Power for a 500 MW solar plant with battery storage that will supply Egypt Aluminium, the Bank said.
For Egypt, it follows Scatec’s signing on 28 October of $217 million of loans from the EBRD, the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank for the first phase of Dandara, where construction is starting. In The Edge’s reading, the concessional slice is aimed at the battery: Climate Investment Funds and Canadian money make up 27.0% of the loan, and the Bank ties that support to storage.
The company, registered as Dandara Solar Power SAE, will build and operate a 500 MW photovoltaic plant with a 100 MWh battery system, the configuration set out here on 26 October. The developer’s 28 October release puts the first phase at 569 MW of solar with the same 100 MWh of storage. The Bank’s project page shows the project’s status as signed, after Board approval on 22 July 2026.
Concessional and donor money makes up $17 million of the loan
In euros the loan is worth €54.7 million. It includes $10 million of concessional finance from the Climate Investment Funds, and Canada adds $7 million through the Bank’s High-Impact Partnership on Climate Action.
That leaves $46 million, or €39.9 million, beyond the two named contributions. The African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank co-finance the project, and the project summary says it also benefits from first-loss risk cover under the European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+) guarantee programme.
EBRD financing for the Dandara first phase
| Component | $m | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Remainder | 46 | 73.0% |
| CIF concessional | 10 | 15.9% |
| Canada (HIPCA) | 7 | 11.1% |
| Total | 63 | 100% |
EBRD release of 29 October 2026; the remainder line is what is left after the two named contributions, and shares are of the $63 million.
The three lenders’ non-recourse loans for the first phase total $217 million, Scatec said. The company says they cover an estimated 80% of the phase’s capital spending.
The project is developed under the energy pillar, which the Bank leads, of Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food and Energy programme. The Bank puts its investment in Egypt since it began operating there in 2012 at €16.1 billion, a figure set out here on 22 October as more than €16 billion.
The Bank’s summary and the developer publish different cost measures
The project summary puts the total project cost, plant and storage together, at $300 million. The same summary, prepared before Board consideration, describes a senior loan of up to $80 million, and its finance summary shows $70 million. The 29 October release puts the Bank’s financing at $63 million.
The developer’s 28 October release puts total estimated capital spending for the first phase at $271 million, a different measure from the summary’s total project cost.
The project summary, last updated in August, describes the company as a special purpose vehicle wholly owned by Scatec, which will own, manage and operate the project. Ownership has since widened: Scatec said on 28 October that it owns 56% of the Dandara project. It has 36% through its platform with the EBRD and 20% outside it.
The National Bank of Egypt, whose entry was set out here on 26 October, will join with a 20% stake.
Power goes to Egypt Aluminium, named in the release as Misr Aluminium Company (EgyptAlum), under the 25-year agreement set out here on 26 October, through the national transmission network. The summary calls it a take-or-pay contract at pre-agreed prices, which it says reduces the company’s exposure to swings in fossil fuel prices.
Dandara first phase: the Bank’s and the developer’s figures
| Measure | EBRD | Scatec |
|---|---|---|
| Solar capacity | 500 MW | 569 MW |
| Battery storage | 100 MWh | 100 MWh |
| Cost measure | $300m project | $271m capex |
| Output a year | 1.47 TWh | 1.4 TWh |
| CO2 cut a year | nearly 732,000 t | over 550,000 t |
| Power contract | 25 years | 25 years |
EBRD column: release of 29 October 2026, with the cost from project summary 55956; Scatec column: release of 28 October 2026. Output, emissions and the Scatec cost are each source’s approximation; Scatec attributes its output and emissions figures to Dandara.
Output put at an estimated 1.47 TWh a year
The Bank expects the plant to generate an estimated 1.47 TWh of renewable electricity a year, and puts the annual cut in carbon dioxide emissions at nearly 732,000 tonnes. The release describes that output as providing electricity to more than 300,000 households; the power itself is sold to Egypt Aluminium under the 25-year contract.
That is 2.94 GWh a year for every megawatt of the 500 MW the Bank cites. The project summary, prepared before Board approval, gave lower estimates of 1.38 TWh and up to 686,000 tonnes.
Egypt’s solar plants generated 803.9 GWh in June 2026, according to the New and Renewable Energy Authority’s quarterly bulletin. In The Edge’s reading, spread evenly across the year, the plant would add 122.5 GWh a month, equal to 15.2% of that June output; this is an illustration, not a forecast.
The battery is the other half of the design. It will let solar power produced during the day be supplied at peak demand, which the release says improves grid stability and reduces reliance on fossil fuel generation.
The authority counted 500 MWh of batteries in operation in July 2026, as set out here on 22 October, and Dandara’s storage would add 20% to that. The 500 MW the Bank cites would lift Egypt’s solar fleet in operation by 13.4%, as set out here on 26 October.
Construction starts, and training follows in Qena
The developer is starting construction of the first phase and targets commercial operation in the first half of 2028. It expects to begin building the second phase in the first half of 2027.
The investment includes a skills programme in Qena governorate. A nationally accredited course will give green and digital skills to at least 100 participants, with women expected to make up at least a quarter of trainees.
Scatec will offer up to five internships a year to graduates. The project summary adds technical cooperation of up to €100,000 from the Bank’s Special Shareholder Fund to develop the training.
Figures are from the EBRD’s release of 29 October 2026 and its Project Summary Document 55956 (approved 22 July 2026, last updated 12 August 2026), Scatec’s release of 28 October 2026, and the New and Renewable Energy Authority’s quarterly bulletin, Issue 31, July 2026; percentages, sums and ratios not attributed to a source are The Edge’s calculations.
Sources: EBRD, Scatec, New and Renewable Energy Authority, The Edge.
