Mogobe BESS was awarded a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) under the first bid window of the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (BESIPPPP) in South Africa. As part of the PPA, Scatec will receive payments for making the storage capacity available for the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA) which will use the capacity to balance the grid.
The estimated total capex for the battery energy storage project is ZAR 3.0 billion (USD 170 million) of which Scatec's EPC contracts account for approximately 83 percent. The project will be financed by ZAR 2.7 billion (USD 154 million) of non-recourse project debt, with the Standard Bank of South Africa as mandated lead arranger, and the remaining by equity from the owners.
Scatec will own 51 percent of the equity in the project with Perpetua Mogobe (RF) (Pty) Ltd owning 46.5 percent and a holding company of the Mogobe Local Community Trust 2.5 percent. Scatec will be the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) provider and provide operations & maintenance (O&M), as well as asset management (AM) services to the project.
“This marks a new milestone for Scatec in South Africa and for the renewable energy transition in the country” said Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog. “The Mogobe BESS project is a first of a kind and reaffirms our standing as a leading renewable energy player in South Africa. “We continue to see attractive growth opportunities in the market based on the need for growth in power generation, our strong position in the country and our strong and competent local team.”
Replicating successes from our hybrid solar and battery storage projects at Kenhardt, we will proceed to construct one of Africa's first and largest standalone dispatchable BESS systems. The project is located near Kathu, Northern Cape, close to high power demand centres.
“We are showing and supporting that dispatchable energy and grid infrastructure are cornerstones to the sustainability of South Africa's current and future energy system” added Roar Haugland, EVP Sub-Saharan Africa, Scatec. “By unlocking more grid capacity, we are enabling further electricity access, as well as enabling more renewable energy grid connections in years to come.”
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