First phase of Scatec Solar’s 258 MW solar plant in South Africa in commercial operation

Scatec Solar and partners have grid connected and reached commercial operation for 86 MW of the 258 MW solar power complex in Upington, South Africa. The 86 MW facility, known as Sirius, is expected to generate 217 GWh per year and will lead to the abatement of more than 180,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually.

“We are pleased to reach another milestone with the grid connection of our fourth solar power plant in South Africa, with a combined capacity of 276 MW,” said Raymond Carlsen, CEO of Scatec Solar. “South Africa continues to be a very important market for Scatec Solar and we are developing several interesting project opportunities both within the utility scale segment as well as our container-based solar solution Release.”

The three projects in Upington were awarded in April 2015 in the fourth bidding round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Program (REIPP) in South Africa. Scatec Solar owns 42%, Norfund holds 18%, the surrounding community of Upington 5% and South African black investor H1 Holdings the remaining 35% of the equity. The two remaining solar plants, totaling 172 MW of generation capacity, are expected to reach commercial operation within the next few months.