Swedish renewables developer Magnora has secured environmental authorisation for a 260MW solar project it is developing in South Africa.
The authorisation signifies that the project has the majority and most important permits in place, said Magnora.
The solar PV project also allows for the construction of a co-located utility scale battery storage facility.
The project is located in an area with extremely good solar radiation, with an expected yearly output in the excess of 2300 kilowatt hours/kW, which is more than double the output ratio of the best sites in the Nordics.
In February 2021, Magnora made its entry into the South African renewables market through the acquisition of an 850MW project portfolio.
The developer further strengthened the investment by acquiring 92% of the renewable project development company African Green Ventures (AGV) in February 2022.
The portfolio of projects under active development currently consists of approximately 1.8GW in South Africa.
“We are very pleased with our development in South Africa and see great interest from potential buyers in the market for mature projects.
“We hope and believe that we have projects ready for divestment already by the end of this year, confirming the great potential for attractive value creation we see in the South African renewables market,” said Erik Sneve, CEO of Magnora.
Magnora South Africa is, through its development company AGV, developing the projects from greenfield to ready-to-bid/build phase and is constantly working on organically sourcing new projects to the portfolio.
“The AGV team has showed impressive speed and competence within solar and wind project development, being confirmed through the significant milestones achieved over the last months.
“The expected yearly energy output for the solar PV project shows the attractiveness for renewable energy in South Africa” said Espen Erdal, vice president of business development at Magnora.