Norwegian Scatec Solar to Build 350 MW of Solar Power in Africa

August 24th, 2012 by Mathias

Scatec Solar has just stated that they it develop photovoltaic solar systems in West and Central Africa.

Image Credit: Scatec Solar

Scatec Solar is backed by IFC InfraVentures, a member of the World Bank Group, with sufficient investment capacity and expertise in local knowledge and networks.

“Joining forces with IFC InfraVentures allows us to combine Scatec Solar’s know-how in photovoltaic development, installation and operations with IFC’s expertise in financing and working with governments in a region where limited supply of electricity is one of the major challenges for growth. We believe that this partnership will be of great value to the countries we work in by reducing the time required from project development to power generation.” said Raymond Carlsen, CEO of Scatec Solar.

The rate of economic growth in Africa is the fastest in the world. However, the development of the renewable energy resources in this continent lacks traction. Too many regions are reliant on dirty energy systems such as diesel generators. These are not only expensive, but also responsible for large quantities of carbon emissions every year.

Not surprisingly, Africa happens to have some of the best resources of solar energy, making both photovoltaics and thermal an excellent alternative.

Scatec Solar will design, finance, construct and operate solar power plants each with a minimum of 10 MW total installed capacity. The goal is to install 350 MW of solar within the next couple of years.

Source: Scatec Solar

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Tags: Africa, Africa solar, norway, norway solar, Scatec, Scatec Solar

About the Author

Mathias studies Energy and Environmental Engineering. In his spare time he writes about solar panels and other renewable energy technologies at Energy Informative. Connect with Mathias on Google+ or send him an email.

Riley

It’s insane the kind of infrastructure developments that are happening around the concept of solar energy. Arizona solar energy is about to be a nationwide contributor with APS’s launch of their solar panel-powered plant, distributing to over 70,000 homes in the state.

Crazy world, hope it continues in this direction.