Egypt opens first solar-powered gas station

Egypt's first solar-powered gas station has started operating in downtown Cairo. An official inauguration is set to take place before the end of September.

The station belongs to Misr Petroleum, the national distributor of petroleum products, which is launching a pilot project aiming to convert more of its stations to solar energy to reduce consumption of traditional fuel and avoid service suspension during power cuts.

The station uses a system that allows storage of an energy surplus generated during the day to allow the station to operate throughout the night.

The project is being implemented by private company Smart Engineering Solutions in cooperation with publicly-held Sianco.

Officials at the ministries of petroleum and electricity have recently presented renewable energy, especially solar energy, as a way out of Egypt's energy crisis.