Scatec Solar says to reach fin close on 258 MW of S African projects shortly

Norwegian power producer Scatec Solar ASA (OSL:SSO) said today it expects to achieve financial close for 258 MW of solar schemes in South Africa, having signed all project documents on Wednesday.

As announced, yesterday the government of South Africa signed 27 delayed renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) representing about 2,300 MW of generating capacity. Among those were the three projects in Upington that were awarded to Scatec Solar in April 2015 in the fourth bidding round of the country's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

The Norwegian company said today that all contract terms are based on the original award. It estimates the total cost of the three projects to be around ZAR 4.76 billion (USD 400m/EUR 326m) and has arranged non-recourse project finance of ZAR 3.68 billion from a consortium of commercial banks and development finance institutions (DFIs) led by Standard Bank.

Being the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) provider, Scatec Solar’s intention is to begin building works on the projects during the third quarter of 2018 and to hook the plants to the grid towards the end of 2019. The company holds a 42% stake in these schemes, while Norfund Investments will hold 18%. The surrounding community of Upington will have 5% and a South African Black investor will be the owner of the remaining 35%.

"With financial close reached for 1.1 GW of solar projects we have entered into construction contracts with a value of about NOK 8.5 billion that will be realized over the next 1-2 years,” said CEO Raymond Carlsen.

(ZAR 10 = USD 0.840/EUR 0.685)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!