Scatec Secures $217 Million for 569-MW Dandara Solar Plant in Egypt

• Scatec signed $217 million of loans from the EBRD, AfDB and EIB for Dandara's first phase in Egypt and is starting construction.
• The 569-MW solar plant and 100-MWh battery will supply Egypt Aluminium under a 25-year PPA backed by a sovereign guarantee.
• Commercial operation is targeted for the first half of 2028, and the second phase should start construction in H1 2027.

Scatec has signed $217 million of loans for the first phase of its Dandara solar and battery project in Egypt, the company said on Oct. 28, and is starting construction.

The phase pairs a 569-MW solar plant with a 100-MWh battery. Egypt Aluminium buys the output under a 25-year power purchase agreement backed by a sovereign guarantee. Scatec expects about 1.4 TWh a year, it said in a statement.

The non-recourse debt comes from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank. The EBRD, which describes the plant as 500 MW, said on Oct. 29 that its part is $63 million. In April it had disclosed a loan of up to $80 million.

The first phase in numbers

• 569 MW of solar and 100 MWh of storage, out of 1.1 GW and 200 MWh in the March 2025 PPA.
• $271 million of estimated capex, of which $217 million, or about 80%, is non-recourse debt.
• About $476,000 of capex per MW of solar, battery included (list.solar calculation).
• About 28% capacity factor implied by 1.4 TWh a year from 569 MW (list.solar calculation).
• 56% of Dandara is now held by Scatec: 36% through its EBRD platform and 20% directly.
• About 18% of Egypt's 3,247 MW of solar PV at the end of 2025, based on IRENA data (list.solar calculation).

National Bank of Egypt will take 20%. About 60% sits in an Egypt platform that Scatec and the EBRD agreed on Oct. 22, split 60/40 between them. Scatec plans to add equity partners and use equity bridge loans, deferring its own cash until construction ends. It is also the EPC contractor and O&M provider.

Egypt Aluminium is the country's largest industrial power user and exports about 60% of its metal to Europe, Scatec said in 2025. The EBRD also arranged $265 million in October for the 1.2-GW Nefer Minya solar plant.

"Egypt is one of our most important markets, and Dandara reinforces our position as a long-term contributor to the country's energy transition," Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog said.

Commercial operation of the first phase is targeted for the first half of 2028. Scatec expects to start building the second phase in the first half of 2027.