Norwegian developer Scatec has brought the first phase of its Obelisk solar-plus-storage project into commercial operation in Egypt, marking a major milestone for the country’s renewable energy ambitions. Phase 1, comprising 561 MW of solar energy alongside the project’s 100 MW/200 MWh battery storage system, reached full capacity in February 2026, while the remaining 564 MW phase is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.
Once fully operational, the Obelisk project will deliver a combined solar capacity of approximately 1.1 GW – making it Africa’s largest integrated solar-plus-storage facility. The project is located in Nagaa Hammadi, Qena Governorate, Upper Egypt, and is based on a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, backed by a government guarantee. Annual clean electricity generation is expected to exceed 3,000 GWh and is estimated to displace 1.4 to 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
The project is a cornerstone of Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE) program, which aims for a 42% share of renewable energy in the national electricity mix by 2030. The battery storage component is central to the value proposition: by storing excess solar energy during peak hours of the day, the BESS can deliver power during evening peak demand or after sunset, providing grid operators with a level of fixed, dispatchable clean capacity that a standalone solar system cannot reliably provide.
Financing for the project totals approximately $590 million, with a consortium of international development finance institutions providing approximately $479 million in non-recourse debt. The European Investment Bank around $150 million pledgedwith participation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the African Development Bank and British International Investment. Scatec, together with Norfund and Norfund, holds an economic share of 60% in the project EDF energy solutions everyone holds 20%.
The Obelisk deal follows a series of milestones for large-scale deployment of solar energy and storage across Africa, where grid instability and rising peak demand have accelerated interest in storage-based renewable projects. Scatec has already announced a follow-on initiative called Energy Valley that will combine 1.95 GW of solar energy with 3.9 GWh of battery storage – a project that reached PPA signing in early 2026.