Mendubim solar PV plant

active

The project involves the DBOM of the Mendubim solar PV plant, located in the municipality of Assú, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The project also includes a substation and a 5.17km long 230 kilovolts transmission line to connect to the Brazilian interconnected grid at the existing Açu III Substation. The plant will have a total installed capacity of 531MW and will annually produce around 1.2TWh of power, which is equivalent to electricity consumption of 620,000 Brazilian households. Mendubim is developed as a joint venture between Scatec, Hydro Rein and Equinor and all 3 sponsors have an equal economic interest of 33.3%. The will also jointly provide EPC services, while Scatec and Equinor will be responsible for O&M and asset management services. The Mendubim project contracted a 20-year PPA for about 60% of its output with Alunorte, an alumina manufacturer and subsidiary of Hydro Rein's parent company. The remaining output will be sold in the power market in Brazil through Hydro Energia and Equinor's subsidiary Danske Commodities. Total project capital expenditure is $433 million and will be funded by a combination of project financing and equity contribution from the sponsors. IDB Invest has arranged $245 million in debt financing and Santander provided a $53 million term loan with maturity of 15.5 years. The plant entered construction phase on 8 July, 2022 and is set to be fully operational by 2024. IDB financing was signed on 3 November, 2022 and Equinor made a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project on 7 December, 2022. Scatec made first drawdown under the non-recourse loan on 23 March, 2023. Realfin https://scatec.com/2023/03/23/scatec-makes-first-drawdown-under-non-recourse-loan-facility-for-mendubim-solar-project-in-brazil/ https://www.idbinvest.org/en/projects/mendubim-solar-pv-power-project https://www.equinor.com/news/20221207-scaling-solar-brazil