Scatec ASA has been awarded preferred bidder status for the Mogobe (Ferrum) battery energy storage project totalling 103 MW/412 MWh under the first bid window of the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP) in South Africa.

The request for proposal was issued on 7th March 2023 by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and bid submission took place on 2^nd August 2023. The programme aims to procure 513 MW of battery storage via the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, across five specific Eskom (national utility) transmission substations in the Northern Cape province.

The estimated total capex for the battery energy storage project is ZAR 3.1 billion ($163 million) of which Scatec’s EPC contracts account for approximately 83 percent. The project will be financed by ZAR 2.6 billion ($138 million) of non-recourse project debt and the remaining by equity from the owners.

“This marks another significant achievement for Scatec in South Africa and for the renewable energy transition in the country” said Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog. “The award reaffirms our standing as a leading renewable energy player in South Africa. We applaud the South African government’s commitment and dedication to the battery storage procurement programme. Building on the experience garnered from our hybrid solar and battery storage projects at Kenhardt, we have established ourselves as a frontrunner in the dispatchable renewable energy landscape of South Africa and the African continent.”

Scatec will own 51 percent of the equity in the project with Perpetua Holding owning 46.5 percent and a Community Trust holding 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.

“Once again, we have shown that dispatchable energy and grid infrastructure are cornerstones to the sustainability of South Africa’s current and future energy system” added Jan Fourie, EVP Sub-Saharan Africa, Scatec.

According to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, commercial close is expected to be concluded by June 2024.