- Scatec ASA has been awarded preferred bidder status for a total of 846 MW solar (the Kroonstad PV cluster), in the seventh round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) by the Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE) in South Africa.
- The award follows a re-allocation of MW under the seventh bid window from onshore wind to solar PV.
- Once operational, the projects will provide clean and reliable energy under 20-year PPAs.
The bidders list for REIPPPP Bid Window 7 was release in August 2024. BW 7 seeks to procure 3200 MW of wind and 1800 MW of solar power. The outcome revealed an under subscription for wind technology at 1692MW while solar PV is oversubscribed with a total of 8526MW capacity. A total of 8 solar projects and no wind projects were awarded preferred bidders status originally in REIPPPP Bid Window 7. Read more
Located in the Free State province, the cluster will comprise three solar power plants, Oslaagte Solar 2 (293 MW), Oslaagte Solar 3 (293 MW), and Leeuwspruit Solar (260 MW). The estimated total project cost for the solar cluster project is ZAR 13 billion (USD 735 million). The projects will be financed with up to 90% non-recourse project debt and the remaining by equity from the owners.
“I am proud to announce Scatec’s largest megawatt award to date in South Africa, which is a testament of our organisation’s strong track record, capabilities and competitive edge. South Africa is one of our core markets and we are dedicated to continuing to grow our renewables capacity in the country in alignment with the nation’s energy transition agenda. We are now looking forward to reaching financial close and start construction of the PV cluster during 2026,” says Alberto Gambacorta, EVP and GM for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Scatec will own 50.90% of the equity in the project with Stanlib’s infrastructure fund (through its renewable energy platform, Greenstreet), along with Redstreet owning 46.50% and a Community Trust holding 2.6%. Scatec will provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), operations & maintenance (O&M), and asset management (AM) services to the project. Financial close is expected in 2026.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
1 Comment
Hi there…scatec is only for himself but not for the communities…they build these big solar plants around south africa but can’t help the communities with solar powers…I’m around 50km radius from them but nothing happens for us..they made promises about our share or percentage per year but we don’t benefit from them…they are suppose to help the surrounding communities..but so far..it’s only word with no action