AG Energy Obtains License from Libya’s PIB to Build a 200 MWp Solar PV Plant in Ghadames

AG Energy, an independent power producer developing and investing in renewable energy projects in Africa, has been issued an execution license by Libya’s Privatization and Investment Board (PIB) for the deployment of a 200 MWp solar power plant in Libya. The solar PV plant will be constructed in the Ghadames, a town in the Nalut District in the northwestern region of the country.

The Ghadames solar power plant will be the first renewable energy project to be carried out by an IPP in Libya. It is a pilot project for the authorities who expect to attract private investment in the renewable energy sector in Libya.

The issuance of the license for the solar energy production by AG Energy was emanated after a meeting held between the PIB and state-owned vertically structured power utility General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) in Tripoli. In the meeting, both the organizations agreed to form a joint working group to supervise the implementation of the electricity sector plan for the 2025-2030 phase.

The electricity sector plan will cover the need for renewable energies to be financed by local and foreign investors. It was also agreed in the meeting to represent the state utility in the PIB’s investor services department Unified (one-stop) Window, which includes several government departments to ease the process for the private investors to get involved.

Libya has lagged far behind in renewable energy development as compared to its neighbors, due to the civil war and political instability that followed in 2011. The PIB was founded to promote local and foreign investment to set up projects in various production and service sectors within the general policy framework of the country, and the socio-economic development goals.

Many private investors are already interested in Libya’s renewable potential. This is the case of French energy major TotalEnergies, which has inked a deal with GECOL to develop a solar capacity of 500 MWp over the next few years. TotalEnergies will invest through its subsidiary Total Eren dedicated to the production of renewable energy.