Scatec Solar, IFC Partner On Western Africa’s Largest Solar Power Project

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In-line with its strategy to expand footprint in Africa, Norwegian project developer Scatec Solar is planning to develop the largest solar power plant in western Africa.

IFC InfraVentures, a global infrastructure project development fund part of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), will partner with Scatec Solar and a local project developer to set up a 33 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Mali.

IFC InfraVentures will have a 37.5% equity stake in the project while Scatec Solar will have a 50% stake, and local project developer Africa Power 1 will have a 17.5% stake in the project. The total project cost is €52 million, of which 30% had been already financed through a concessional loan from the Climate Investment Fund through the program “Scaling Up Renewable energy in Low Income Countries Program. An additional 45% will come through senior debt finance to be arranged by IFC InfraVentures. The remaining 25% of the project funding is set to come through equity investment from the stakeholders.

Scatec Solar will implement the project through its local subsidiary Segou Solaire. A 25-year power purchase agreement has been signed between the Malian Ministry of Energy and Water and Electricité du Mali (EDM) and Segou Solaire.

The project is expected to deploy about 130,000 solar PV modules which will generate about 60,000 MWh and avoid about 46,000 tonnes of CO2e annually. Scatec Solar and EDM will jointly register the project with the United Nations CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) under Scatec Solar’s program for solar projects in Africa. This allows generation of revenues from the sale of international carbon credits.

Scatec Solar is bullish on solar power opportunities in the developing and least developed countries. Last year, the company joined hands with the Norwegian investment fund for developing countries (Norfund) to set up solar power projects in developing and least developed countries in Africa, Asia, and South America.