Refinancing of three solar projects in South Africa

Scatec has announced the refinancing of the non-recourse debt facilities for the 75 MW Kalkbult solar plant, the 75 MW Dreunberg solar plant in Eastern Cape and the 40 MW Linde in the Northern Cape province of South Africa with lenders.

Based on its 45% ownership in the power plants, the company's share of proceeds from the refinancing amounts to ZAR540 million (US$36 million). The refinancing will benefit the South African authorities through a 50:50 profit split between the shareholders of the power plants and the authorities, in accordance with the Refinancing Protocol issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).

In 2020, DMRE embarked on a program for voluntary refinancing of projects under the earlier rounds of the country’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). The program’s aim is to reduce tariffs for renewable energy projects in earlier rounds of REIPPP to make the projects cost-competitive and save costs for the national power utility Eskom.