Sudan is in talks with Norway’s Scatec Solar to build its largest solar power farm. A Sudanese delegation led by investment minister Mubarak Al-Fadil met with Scatec Solar executives last week during a business summit in Oslo, where the potential for a solar farm with a minimum 400 MW capacity was discussed, the Minister said in an interview with Reuters.
“We invited them to come to discuss a power-sharing agreement. We told them that we are not on for small projects. They said their initial start could be 400 MW,” Al-Fadil said.
Sudan’s power production capacity, which is just above 3,000 MW, is insufficient to satisfy the country’s demand, reaching only about 40% of its population and the country wants to produce more, said Al-Fadil.
“Given the growth on demand, we need at least 5,000 new MW to build in the country. Renewable is preferable for us,” he said.
If realized, a 400 MW solar farm could cost about $450 million and Sudan is prepared to hand Scatec Solar the PPA, hoping to have the plant up and running within a year of striking a deal, he added.