Export credit agency Export Finance Norway (Eksfin) has provided a 1.2 billion krone (US$102 million) guarantee for three solar power plants in South Africa being developed by Norwegian independent power producer Scatec.

Scatec will build  the plants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, with a total installed capacity of 540 megawatts plus 225MW of battery capacity. The project, costing US$1 billion, is a partnership between the South African government-backed investor H1 Holdings (49%) and Scatec (51%).

In late July Standard Bank of South Africa and British International Investment signed a non-recourse debt deal amounting to US$727 million.

Eksfin is issuing the construction phase guarantee to Scatec in partnership with the Nordea banking group.

Since 2010, Eksfin has provided about 7 billion kroner in guarantees for Scatec projects in various parts of the world. Scatec has been active in South Africa, where it has delivered six large power plants with a total installed capacity of 448 MW.