Difficult Situation: Scatec And Equinor Sell Solar Power Plant in Argentina

Oslo, Norway - Norwegian renewable generation developer and operator Scatec owns and operates the Guañizuil IIA solar power plant in Argentina as part of a 50/50 joint venture with Norwegian energy company Equinor.

According to Scatec, the two companies have now agreed to sell their shares in the 117-megawatt (MW) solar power plant as well as their shares in the local operating company to Central Puerto, one of Argentina's largest power producers. As a result, Scatec is withdrawing from the Argentinian market.

The power plant was connected to the grid in 2021. During construction, Equinor provided the joint venture with a non-recourse bridge loan that must be refinanced. However, given the increasingly difficult political and economic situation in Argentina, this refinancing was not possible, Scatec said.

A sales process was therefore initiated, and concrete offers were received from potential buyers in the second quarter. However, these were significantly below the current total book value of the project. Consequently, Scatec recognized an impairment charge of NOK 350 million in the second quarter, corresponding to the full book value of the equity investment.

Scatec is among the leading renewable energy solutions providers accelerating access to reliable and affordable clean energy in emerging markets. As a long-term player, Scatec says it currently develops, builds, owns and operates renewable energy facilities with a capacity of 4,400 MW (4.4 GW) on four continents. Scatec plans to further expand its generation capacity.

Source: IWR Online, 23 Oct 2023