Norwegian solar company secures 100 MW project in Nigeria

16 Aug 2016, 12:00 am
Financial Nigeria

Summary

Scatec Solar will develop, build, own, and operate the Nova Scotia power plant in Jigawa.

Solar panel

Scatec Solar, a Norwegian solar power producer, said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with the Nova Scotia Power Development Limited (NSPDL) to develop a 100MW solar power plant in Dutse, Jigawa State.

NSPDL – which was formed by CDIL, an Africa-focused Canadian renewable energy development company, and Business Process Solutions Consult Limited (BPS), a Nigerian strategic consulting firm – recently signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc (NBET).

The agreement, signed on July 21, was for the construction of a 100MW solar plant, which is expected to cost $150 million. The plant will generate about 200,000-megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity for 200,000 households. 

Scatec Solar will develop, build, own, and operate the Nova Scotia power plant in Jigawa. The project is expected to reach financial close in 2017 and commercial operations will begin a year later.

“Solar power in Nigeria has significant long-term potential, and we want to take part in the development of this new market,” said Raymond Carlsen, Scatec Solar’s CEO. “This investment is the culmination of an extensive review during which the Nova Scotia Power project stood out thanks to its exceptional fundamentals. With the quality of its site, development standards and equity funded by Scatec Solar and its partners, the project is ideally positioned to progress rapidly to financial close”

Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Scatec Solar builds and operates solar power plants and has an installation track record of about 600 MW. The company is currently producing electricity from 404 MW of solar power plants in the Czech Republic, South Africa, Rwanda, Honduras, Jordan, and the United States. (Construction of an additional 22 MW in Jordan is under completion).

"We recognized the importance of partnering with a sponsor able to bring the project to financial close and with whom we share a long-term vision,” said Arif Mohiuddin, the President and CEO of Canadian Pacific Consulting Services (CPCS), the parent company of CDIL. “We are proud of teaming up with Scatec Solar, who has demonstrated its unique ability to deliver similar projects in Africa.”


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