Norwegian firm Scatec ASA (OSL:SCATC) announced on Thursday it has made its first drawdown under a USD-243-million (EUR 225.31m) non-recourse loan facility as construction of the 531-MW Mendubim solar project in Brazil is in progress.
The loan agreement was inked in November 2022 with lenders IDB Invest, Banco Santander (BME:SAN) and BNP Paribas (EPA:BNP) to support the implementation of the project. Construction of the Mendubim solar power plant commenced in July 2022 and is currently 34% completed.
Located in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte, the solar park is being realised in partnership with Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) and Hydro Rein, part of aluminium producer Norsk Hydro ASA (OSE:NHY).
Once up and running, Mendubim should be capable of generating enough clean electricity to meet the demand of some 620,000 local households.
Around 60% of its output will be sold under a 20-year USD-denominated power purchase agreement (PPA) with world-leading alumina supplier Alumina do Norte do Brasil SA (Alunorte). The remaining volume will be sold in the Brazilian free market.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.927)
