Scatec Solar grid connects two solar PV plants in Czech Republic

OSLO, NORWAY: Scatec Solar, the global turnkey supplier of solar PV (photovoltaic) solutions, had two solar PV parks with a total capacity of 2.65 MW grid connected in the Czech Republic last week.

These projects are the first of a total of 17.5 MW the company plans to complete in the country before year end. These projects will all receive debt financing through a portfolio agreement Scatec Solar has entered into with the Norwegian Eksportfinans, GIEK (The Norwegian Guarantee Institute for Export Credit) and Nordea.

"We are very pleased to have successfully completed these projects in the Czech Republic," Raymond Carlsen CEO of Scatec Solar, said. "We have ambitious goals for the Czech market this year and we are on track to obtain our objective to establish cost efficient solar PV as a sustainable source of energy to Czech consumers."

The new solar plants will be financed through a loan agreement with Eksportfinans, the Norwegian export credit institution for export financing, owned by banks and the Norwegian Ministry for Trade and Industry.

This is the first closing under a portfolio structure where Eksportfinans is providing the funding with backing in the form of guarantees from GIEK (The Norwegian Guarantee Institute for Export Credit) and the corporate bank, Nordea. The total framework for this financing extends to all the Czech projects Scatec Solar has in its pipeline for 2010 and represents a total potential of € 80 million debt finance.

The portfolio agreement with Eksportfinans, GIEK and Nordea is a milestone in our activities in the Czech Republic and will secure financing at beneficial terms and conditions for all the projects we plan to complete this year, Carlsen said.

"To a large extent, access to debt financing dictates both the size and the tempo in completing solar PV projects, and we dedicate substantial time and internal resources to secure such financing. Through this portfolio agreement we have obtained the necessary financial predictability to complete projects in the Czech Republic in line with our optimistic plans," he added.

Both the grid connected parks are located in the south eastern region of the Czech Republic where we find the country’s best solar irradiation conditions. The total annual production of the parks will be around 3 000 MWh (3 million kWh).

The first project at Hrusovany, is a 1.05 MW extension of the existing 2.1 MW plant that Scatec Solar completed last year. The second plant at Mramotice is a 1.6 MW plant expected to be extended by 1 MW later this year.