Renewable energy producer Scatec ASA has announced a deal to sell a portion of its equity in a 190-megawatt (MW) solar portfolio in South Africa for ZAR 921 million (USD 50.6 million or EUR 46.9 million). The transaction, which is set to occur in two stages, marks another step in Scatec's ongoing strategy to streamline its portfolio.
The South African solar portfolio includes three operational facilities: the Kalkbult and Dreunberg solar farms, each with a capacity of 75 MW, and the 40-MW Linde site. Following the deal, Scatec will reduce its stake in Kalkbult to approximately 13% from 46%, and its holdings in Linde and Dreunberg will decrease from 44% to 12%.
The buyer of these minority shareholdings is a unit of South African investment firm STANLIB. Kalkbult and Linde are located in the Northern Cape, while Dreunberg is in the Eastern Cape. All three facilities have 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with local utility Eskom, having been commissioned in 2014.
Scatec's CEO, Terje Pilskog, stated, “This transaction signifies continued implementation of our strategy to recycle capital into new investments in renewable energy.”
This divestment follows Scatec's recent sale of its 54% stake in an 8.5-MW solar farm in Rwanda and the cessation of operations in the country. Additionally, the company signed a deal to sell its majority stake in an African hydropower joint venture with 255 MW of operational capacity and a 567 MW development pipeline.
