Renewable Energy: Getting qualified for the Solar Energy Companies!

 The Energy sector has a great role in enhancing Egypt’s economic development; as it contributes in the growth of the domestic productivity and enhancing the investment atmosphere in Egypt. With having a problem of the fast population growth along with other environmental challenges that put restrictions and overstraining the limited energy resources, a new trend in investment has been encouraged few years ago by the government calling reforming the energy sector in order to attract the private sector investment for investing in the renewable energy sector especially the solar ones.

That is why the government has implemented the competitive bidding approach whereby the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company will issue tenders requesting the supply of power from large-scale renewable energy resources for pre-determined sites on a build, own, operate basis. Accordingly, an investor can invest in the energy sector by establishing a company as per the rules imposed by the general authority for investment and free zones according to the Companies Law No.159 of 1981 or the Investment Law No.72 of 2017 then the company shall apply for getting qualified in order to be able to enter into the bids offered by the country.

Herein below, we will shed the light on the requirements and main documents to be submitted before NREA (New and Renewable Energy Authority) in order to be qualified for handling solar energy projects below 500 watt and above 500 watt, as follows:

Main requirements of getting qualified for projects less than 500 watt and over 20 megawatt:

• Commercial Register having the activity of (installing solar energy plant “PV”);
• The financial statement of the company approved by the auditor and in case that the company has been established for less than a year, an initial financial report can be submitted instead.
• Social Insurance printout for all of the employees working in the solar cells field (Engineers and technicians);
• The managerial structure of the company along with the employees’ CVs;
• A three year past-experience proof in the field of installing the solar energy plant (i.e. Contracts);
• A data sheet with the technical specifications required for the solar sheets/cells and the current changer;
• The standard test certificates for the solar PV and the current changer (IEC61730, IEC 61215, IEC 61727); and
• The three statements that will be provided by NREA to be signed on by the tax stamp.

It is worthy to be noted that the company has to pay the qualification fees while submitting the documents.

After that NREA shall review all the submitted documents and issue the qualification certificate to the company working in the solar energy plants. The qualification certificate is valid for three years and shall be renewed for the same term.