Egypt’s KarmSolar Will Light Up This Shopping Complex Completely On Solar Energy by 2021
The first fully-solar shopping complex in Egypt is just about to be active, as Arkan Plaza, situated in Cairo's satellite city of 6th of October, will be running 100 percent on solar energy.
KarmSolar, an Egyptian startup that delivers solar energy solutions to different sectors across the country, is taking its first steps in the commercial real estate world, starting with Arkan Plaza in 6th of October City, which is slated to be entirely powered by solar energy in four years.
On May 10th, KarmSolar signed the deal with the Plaza's owner company El Badr for Investment and Commercial Spaces. "Through our partnership with a market leader like KarmSolar we are aiming to make our operations sustainable and more efficient," says Tamer Badr El Din, a board member at El Badr. "It is our aim to become completely dependent on clean renewable energy by 2021 and we are confident KarmSolar will get us there."
The deal comprises the implementation of energy distribution as well as generation. The deal also includes a commitment by KarmSolar to build solar stations of a total of 20 megawatts by 2021, to sustain Arkan Plaza's 100 percent conversion to green energy.
KarmSolar's subsidiary arm that invests in private solar Power Purchase Agreements, KarmPower, will be carrying out this project with a total pipeline of committed projects of 65 megawatts to be executed before 2020. "This is KarmPower’s first time to take on a comprehensive energy solution for a commercial mall," says Ibrahim Metawie, KarmPower’s general manager. "We are expecting this to become one of our main business lines as more developers look towards energy efficiency."
Along with Randa Fahmy, Ahmed Zahran co-founded KarmSolar in 2011 after forking from their personal savings to fill in the gaping hole in the market that no one was paying attention to. "It is our mission to empower our clients;" says Zahran. "Our partnership with a real estate leader like El Badr aims to enable them to streamline their energy utility operations. We are confident that other developers will follow this visionary move, as they recognise that investing in clean energy is no longer a choice, but a necessity."
Main image courtesy of Arkan Plaza.
