Scatec signs PPA for 1.1GW/200MWh Egypt solar-plus-storage, commissions Botswana PV

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The Benban solar park in Egypt.
Scatec is one of the largest renewables developers in Egypt. Image: Scatec.

Norwegian renewable energy developer Scatec has moved forward on two PV projects, in Egypt and Botswana.

The company signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Egypt Aluminium for a 1.1GW/200MWh solar-plus-storage project in the country. The USD-denominated deal is backed by an Egyptian sovereign guarantee and Scatec said it expects the project to complete financing and begin construction “within the next 12 months”.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The project is expected to represent around US$650 million in capital expenditure, approximately 80% of which will be funded by non-recourse debt, Scatec said. The company currently owns 100% of the project but said it will “reduce its long-term economic interest by inviting additional equity partners.”

Egypt Aluminium is the largest industrial electricity consumer in Egypt and exports “approximately 60% of its production” to Europe, Scatec said. The company said Scatec’s solar power would help it to meet the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which is due to come into force in 2026.

Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog said the solar-plus-storage project is “a groundbreaking project as it is the first utility-scale PPA in the country with an industrial offtaker.”

Egypt has become one of the leading lights of Africa’s solar industry, attracting a number of large-scale PV projects. UAE-based renewables developer AMEA Power commissioned a 500MW PV plant in Egypt in December along with a 25-year PPA with Egypt’s electricity transmission company, Egypt Electricity Transmission Company (EETC).

Africa’s cumulative solar PV capacity grew by 2.5GW in 2024, according to trade body AFSIA Solar, overwhelmingly dominated by additions in Egypt and South Africa. The same report from January saw a “boom” in energy storage capacity across the continent, driven largely by falling prices for stationary storage solutions.

60MW Botswana PV comes online

Scatec also commissioned the first 60MW of a planned 120MW solar PV cluster in Botswana.

The Mmadinare Solar Cluster in central Botswana is under a 25-year PPA with the national utility, the Botswana Power Corporation. Scatec said the remaining 60MW is expected to be online “in the beginning of 2026.”

This is Scatec’s first operational PV plant in Botswana. Back in 2022, PV Tech reported that the company had signed a PPA with the Botswana Power Corporation for a 50MW PV site in the east of the country.

As with the Egypt solar-plus-storage site, Scatec said it intends to reduce its long-term economic interest in the Botswana cluster by inviting “additional equity partners”.

Scatec’s Q3 2024 financial results revealed a strategy of divesting its assets (reducing its ownership or selling projects outright) which saw increased revenues and what Pilskog called increased “financial flexibility”.

25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.

Read Next

June 10, 2025
Australia’s Queensland government has confirmed an AU$2.4 billion investment in the CopperString transmission project, aiming to extend the National Electricity Market (NEM) to the North West Minerals Province.
June 9, 2025
Sonnedix has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Renfe to supply 420GWh of renewable energy annually for its commercial operations.
June 9, 2025
Growing political headwinds threaten to dent US solar manufacturing and project deployment, despite a strong start to 2025.
June 6, 2025
rPlus Energies has secured more than US$500 million for an 800MW solar-plus-storage project in Emery County, Utah, US.  
June 6, 2025
Eternal Sun has acquired German solar simulator provider Wavelabs, which has resulted in the formation of a new subsidy, Wavelabs Eternal Sun.
June 6, 2025
Australia’s Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has called on Australia’s climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, to “urgently intervene” on a rule change that could threaten to derail the uptake of rooftop solar PV.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece