Oslo headquartered renewable power producer Scatec has announced a new partnership with ACME to develop a 900MW solar power plant in the state of Rajasthan, India.
The project has a 25-year power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India, which was secured during a tender in 2018.
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It marks Scatec’s first project in India, with the company’s CEO Raymond Carlsen noting that “the country is targeting a significant growth in renewable energy capacity by 2030 and is a key growth market for renewables. We have already established presence on the ground and are positioning for future tenders within solar, wind and hybrids.”
The partnership follows Scatec announcing in April that it was looking to collaborate with project developers in India as it looked to get a foothold in the market. In March, it unveiled a NOK 100 billion (US$11.7 billion) plan that will see the company expand its renewables portfolio to 15GW over the next four years, with a number of key markets for expansion noted including India.
An estimated total capex of US$400 million will be required for Scatec and ACME’s solar project, with 75% debt financing from an Indian state-owned lender.
Scatec will hold a 50% economic interest, with ACME retaining the other 50%. The Indian company will be the turn-key EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) provider, while Scatec will ensure delivery to international standards, HSSE and E&S, as well as optimising operations.
Construction is expected to start this year, with completion scheduled for 2022. When operational, the plant is expected to have an annual production of 1,600GWh.
“We are very happy to have Scatec as our partner in India and look forward to build a much larger portfolio of renewable energy projects with this partnership,” said Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, founder and chairman of ACME group.
“This partnership is a testimony of the robust growth potential India offers with a plan to achieve 450GW of renewable energy power by 2030, enabling policies, ease of doing business and support by government of India to investors and renewable companies globally. ACME brings value of local expertise, indigenous and cutting-edge technology to execute large scale projects at affordable prices.”
The partnership comes days after Scatec announced it is to develop three projects in South Africa totalling 540MW of solar and 225MW / 1,140MWh of battery storage, following a government tender.
