ABB Inverters Powering Egypt’s First Large-Scale Solar Plant

ABB inverters have been used at Egypt’s first large-scale, grid-connected solar farm – and it looks like they could be in for a particularly tough working life.

Toshka Solar Park is a 20MW project that was commissioned in two phases over the course of this year, with the second phase inaugurated earlier this month.

“The solar plant will add reliable power capacity to the grid in Toshka, which will support agricultural infrastructure development in this area,” said Yasser El Shazly, Executive Director of Complete Energy Solutions, which constructed the project.

The facility features 8 PVS800-IS inverter stations, each containing two PVS800 central inverters. It appears the years ahead could be quite a challenge for the inverters and whoever is in charge of maintenance of the facility – look at the dust!

ABB’s involvement with the project was the complete electrical and automation solution for the plant, including the design and engineering works.

As well as equipment for large-scale facilities such as this, ABB inverters are also commonly used in commercial and residential solar power installations around the world and have been quite popular in Australia.

The Toshka solar plant is in an area part of an ambitious and very controversial plan by the Egyptian government to turn a desert valley into an agricultural region. The Toshka Project involves the construction of a system of canals to transport water from Lake Nasser to irrigate the area, which is part of the Sahara Desert. The goal is to basically create a second Nile Valley to help feed Egypt’s growing population and attract investment.

The Toshka Project was kicked off in the late 1990’s, then abandoned, and started again.

Lake Nasser, which is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, was created by damming the mighty Nile River. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam currently being constructed upstream on the Blue Nile may have an adverse effect on the lake. When eventually completed, the dam will take 5 – 15 years to fill and Egypt fears a significant decrease in the Nile’s water flows during this time. This might not only threaten the Toshka Project, but also hydro-electric power generation associated with Lake Nasser.

Added to this are the threats posed to the Nile River by climate change and  the pressure of population growth, which is expected to double in the Nile Basin by 2050.