benban

Benban is a village in the Aswan Governorate of Egypt. It is best known for the Benban Solar Park, a large solar photovoltaic complex located near the village along the Nile desert region. The park consists of multiple individual plants that together form one of the largest solar power facilities in the world.

The Benban Solar Park has a total installed capacity of about 1.8 gigawatts (GW). Construction began in 2015 and the project was built in phases, with commissioning occurring over several years and the facility reaching substantial operation by the late 2010s. The development was undertaken as a centerpiece of Egypt’s renewable energy strategy, which aims to diversify the electricity mix, reduce emissions, and attract private investment through long-term power purchase agreements with the government.

Financing for the project involved a mix of Egyptian and international sources, including private developers and development finance institutions. The park was designed to integrate into Egypt’s national grid and to help increase electricity supply, particularly in the southern region along the Nile, contributing to the country’s broader goals for expanding renewable energy capacity.

Benban, as a location, highlights Egypt’s push to leverage solar energy to meet growing demand and to position the country as a regional hub for renewable energy development. The site remains a reference project in discussions of large-scale solar deployment in North Africa.