Week in Middle East: Turkey sets new rules for solar module imports and TSK starts production tests at Kom Ombo Solar Power Plant

Turkey sets new rules for solar module imports

The Turkish government published new regulations this week regarding imports of solar panels that will go into force within 30 days from the date of publication. The new rules state that the import duty on solar modules will now be calculated per kilogram, rather than by square meter, as was the case under the previous regulation. Under the old rules, which were in force from May 2017 to this month, the real total value of an imported module was calculated at $300/m2. But under the government’s new calculation method, the real price of a module will be $25/kg. The first edition of the regulation was also based on a dollars-per-kilogram rate and remained in force from December 2015 to April 2017.

EGYPT: TSK starts production tests at Kom Ombo Solar Power Plant

The New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) announces that the Kom Ombo solar power plant has just entered its test phase. The Spanish group TSK had been entrusted with the implementation of this project. Located in the governorate of Aswan, the plant is already connected to the grid via a substation. The facility occupies an area of 500,000 square metres and will have a production capacity of 26 MWp. According to NREA, the plant is expected to produce 53,000 MWh per year, which will save about 12,000 tons of fuel (diesel) and avoid the emission of 30,000 tons of CO2. The solar project required an investment of 20 million euros. It was financed via a loan from the French Development Agency (AFD). The project is part of the Egyptian government’s strategy to diversify the country’s electricity mix by producing 20% of electricity from renewable sources by 2022 and 30% by 2025. Also as part of this strategy, the authorities have decided to build another solar power plant in Kom Ombo.