Egypt's desert built the world's largest solar farm costing 2.8 billion US dollars
2018-08-01
In 1913, Philadelphia inventor Frank Shuman built the world's first solar thermal power station on the outskirts of Cairo, using Egypt's abundant sunshine to pump water from the Nile River to irrigate nearby cotton fields. The discovery of a world war and cheap oil shattered the dream of Shuman's massive replication of solar power plants. One hundred years later, his dream was revived again.
Egypt is building Benban, the world's largest solar power plant, 400 miles from Cairo. The project costs $2.8 billion and will open next year. At present, more than 90% of Egypt's electricity comes from oil and natural gas. The government plans to generate 42% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2025. Benban is expected to generate 1.8 GW of electricity to meet 4% of national electricity demand. It consists of 30 independent solar power plants, the first of which will begin operation in December this year.
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