How many solar panels are in Benban Solar Park?

There, as many as 7.2 million photovoltaic panels will make up Benban Solar Park—a renewable energy project so massive, it will be visible from space. The 1.8-gigawatt installation is the first utility-scale PV plant in Egypt, a nation blessed with some of the best solar resources on the planet.

What is Benban Solar Park?

Amid the sand dunes of the eastern Sahara, workers are putting the finishing touches on one of the world’s largest solar installations. There, as many as 7.2 million photovoltaic panels will make up Benban Solar Park—a renewable energy project so massive, it will be visible from space.

Will Benban inspire investors to build more solar projects in Egypt?

After his firm completed a Benban project for the company IB Vogt, Elsheikh soon heard from other developers that needed help with their own projects there. He says Benban has already started to inspire investors to consider building more utility-scale solar PV projects in Egypt.

What is Benban Solar?

Benban was the first utility-scale solar PV project that Elsheikh had ever managed in his career, which had always centered on rooftop installations. After his firm completed a Benban project for the company IB Vogt, Elsheikh soon heard from other developers that needed help with their own projects there.

Is Benban a 'big ocean' of photovoltaics?

Photo: Dominic Chavez/IFC Mohamed Elsheikh, a contractor who has worked at Benban, says the desert site now looks like “a big ocean” of photovoltaics. Orabi, who has consulted on several projects at the park, estimates that more than 80 percent of installations there are now complete.

What are the trends in solar PV technology?

A steady trend in technology improvements is observed, with crystalline solar PV being the dominant technology in the market. Increasing scales of production have also led to significant cost reductions in the per watt cost of solar modules.