In the Benban Photovoltaic Industrial Park in the desert hinterland of Aswan Province in southern Egypt, rows of photovoltaic panels convert abundant sunlight resources into precious electricity that local residents cannot do without production and life.
On April 21, workers remove dust from photovoltaic modules at the Benban Photovoltaic Industrial Park in Aswan Province in southern Egypt
When the temperature in Aswan exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in the summer, Ahmad Kamal and his colleagues on site began to organize inspections of the dust removal of PV modules by O&M contractors at around 5 a.m.
"If there is more dust, it will cover the photovoltaic modules and block the sun, and the power generation efficiency of the modules will decrease, which will affect the power generation." Kamal said that due to the high temperatures during the day, cleaning needs to be carried out early in the morning and late in the evening.
Kamal, 33, is the site manager of the Benban photovoltaic power plant project of the new energy power plant of Asia Africa Green Energy Investment Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Three Gorges International Energy Investment Group Co., Ltd., and has been working in the Benban photovoltaic industrial park for five years.
On April 21, workers remove dust from photovoltaic modules at the Benban Photovoltaic Industrial Park in Aswan Province in southern Egypt
Covering an area of 37 square kilometers, the photovoltaic industrial park plans to build 40 solar power plants with a total installed capacity of about 2 gigawatts, and 32 power plants have been completed and put into operation. Egypt's Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy said in a statement in April that the PV industrial park will help Egypt increase the use of renewable energy and is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2 million tons per year.
On April 21, workers inspected photovoltaic panels at the Benban Photovoltaic Industrial Park in Aswan Province in southern Egypt
Li Fengyi, deputy director of the new energy power plant of Asia-Africa Green Energy Investment Co., Ltd., said that the company operates five solar power plants with a total installed capacity of 321 megawatts in the photovoltaic industrial park in this class, and these power plants have been in operation since 2019, and the photovoltaic panels used are all produced in China.
"International clean energy cooperation has injected new momentum into the green and low-carbon development of the Belt and Road countries." Qin Wu, director of the new energy power plant of Asia-Africa Green Energy Investment Co., Ltd., said that Egypt is rich in solar energy resources, and in recent years, projects such as the Benban photovoltaic industrial park have not only effectively alleviated the local electricity shortage, but also helped the local area to build a regional clean energy center.
On April 21, workers inspected photovoltaic panels at the Benban Photovoltaic Industrial Park in Aswan Province in southern Egypt
Thousands of jobs were created during the construction of the PV industrial park, and the operation of the power plant continues to provide many permanent jobs for local residents. "This job has improved my income and standard of living, as well as enriched my experience, especially in the area of security for power plant operations," Kamal said. ”
On April 21, workers inspected photovoltaic panels at the Benban Photovoltaic Industrial Park in Aswan Province in southern Egypt
Today, the Kamal family has moved from Alexandria to Aswan.
Kamal's colleague Mohammed Hussein told reporters that before the construction of the photovoltaic industrial park, he had worked in various parts of Egypt, and he had been working here since the construction of the photovoltaic power plant project in this class.
This is a photovoltaic panel photographed on April 21 at the Benban Photovoltaic Industrial Park in Aswan Province, southern Egypt
"Now that I have a fixed place of work and it's not far from home, my family and I are very satisfied," Hussain said with a smile, "I get along well with my colleagues, and we all work together every day to be fulfilling and enjoyable." We are a great team and I am constantly learning and improving every day. ”