- Jan Jurie Fourie, Executive Vice President: Sub-Sahara at Scatec ASA, reports that their EPC Team achieved a significant milestone by successfully connecting the mega solar + battery project at Kenhardt, Northern Cape, South Africa, to the Eskom grid.
Scatec started construction of the three Kenhardt projects in July last year. The project was was awarded under the country’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) and is the first to feed electrons into the grid under the programme which has been plagued by controversy and delays. Read more
The project has a total solar capacity of 540 MW with a battery storage capacity of 225MW/1,140MWh, and will provide 150 MW of dispatchable power under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement.
The project will be the largest investment in Scatec’s history with a total capex of approximately ZAR 16.4 billion (USD 962 million) to be financed by equity from the owners and ZAR 12.4 billion (USD 727 million) in non-recourse project debt. The debt will be provided by a group of Lenders which includes The Standard Bank Group as arranger and British International Investments. The Kenhardt projects are funded in local currency.
Scatec own 51% of the equity in the project, with H1 Holdings, a local Black Economic Empowerment partner owning 49%. Scatec provided the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) plus Operation & Maintenance as well as Asset Management services to the power plants. The value of Scatec’s Development and EPC contract for the project is approximately ZAR 13.7 billion (USD 800 million).
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
