Kenhardt solar plants project in South Africa commences

Construction of the Kenhardt Solar Plants in South Africa has begun. Norwegian independent power producer (IPP), Scatec announced the commencing follows the financial close of the three projects.

The overall cost of the project is estimated to be US $962M. Out of the amount, US $727M will be raised from a group of lenders including Standard Bank Group as arranger and British International Investment (BII).

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Co-development agreement

The solar plants will be set up in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province. The three projects under construction will have a combined solar capacity of 540 MW and battery storage capacity of 225 MW/1,140 MWh, and will provide 150 MW of dispatchable power under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to the Kenhardt region. These projects are being implemented under the Independent Power Producer Procurement for Risk Mitigation Program (IPPMP). Scatec is the first IPP to participate in this South African government initiative.

Under the co-development agreement, Scatec will own 51% of the project, while South African investor H1 Holdings will own 49%. IPP is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) service provider. The Oslo-based company will also provide operation and maintenance services and asset management services for the power plants.

“Achieving commercial and financial close on the Kenhardt projects shows a real commitment from the Scatec team and its partners. This project is a first of its kind and will be one of the largest solar and battery installations in the world,” said Terje Pilskog, Scatec’s CEO.