Scatec, Aeolus partner to build 120MW Tunisian PV, secure EBRD funding

As part of the agreement, Scatec will hold 51% of the projects, while Aeolus the remaining 49%.

Scatec estimated the total cost of the project to be €79 million, and will be financed by non-recourse project finance debt, concessional loans and equity from the partners. Financial close for the projects has already been secured, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the French development agency, Proparco, lending €25 million (US$27.3 million) to the solar PV plants.

It consists of a loan of up to €12.5 million, a concessional tranche of US$ 8.9 million (€8.2 million) extended by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and US$5.0 million (€4.6 million) provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

“We are proud to partner with Scatec and Aeolus – Toyota Tsusho Group on their first utility-scale solar projects in Tunisia. These projects, cofinanced with our long-standing partners Proparco, the Clean Technology Fund and the Global Environment Facility, are a testament to the sponsors’ commitment to supporting the development of Tunisia’s renewable energy sector,” said Nandita Parshad, managing director of the EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group.

Scatec will start construction of the projects which were awarded a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA), back in 2019, with Tunisian state utility Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz (STEG). On top of providing Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) on the projects, the Norwegian developer will also provide operations and maintenance (O&M) and asset management services.

Sale of PV assets in Africa

At the opposite end of the continent, The Norwegian developer recently sold part of its ownership in three solar power plants – Kalkbult, Linde, and Dreunberg – with a combined capacity of 190MW.

The sale agreement was signed with Greenstreet 1 Proprietary limited, a subsidiary of STANLIB Infrastructure Fund II which is managed by South African asset manager STANLIB Asset Management Proprietary. The transaction is estimated at ZAR921 million (US$50 million).

Scatec currently holds 46% of the Kalkbult project and 44% of the other two and will sell down to approximately 13% in Kalkbult and 12% in Linde and Dreunberg. The company will remain as the operations and maintenance (O&M) and asset manager of the three facilities.

These projects were part of the solar PV plants awarded in the first two round of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). All three projects were commissioned in 2014 and have a 20-year power purchase agreement with utility Eskom.

This is not the first time both companies have signed an agreement to sell part of ownership of a solar PV asset. Last year, Scatec sold 42% of its equity share to Stanlib Asset Management Proprietary for a 258MW solar PV plant.

“This transaction signifies continued implementation of our strategy to recycle capital into new investments in renewable energy,” says Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog.

The first phase of the transaction is estimated to close in the second half of 2024 and the second phase in the first half of 2025.

Furthermore, earlier this month Scatec closed the sale of its 54% equity stake in a 8.5MW solar PV plant in Rwanda. The transaction was made with Fortis Green Fund I Rwanda Holdings Ltd (Fortis) and Axian Energy Green Ltd (Axian) for US$1.38 million.

With the sale of its equity share for the 8.5MW PV project in Rwanda, the Norwegian developer has also exited from the O&M and asset management of the project and discontinued all operations in the country.