Scatec Signs $150M Equity Bridge Loans With The Arab Energy Fund For Egypt Projects
The three-year facility allocates $50 million to the Shadwan wind farm and $100 million to the Energy Valley solar and battery project.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
Scatec has signed equity bridge loan agreements worth $150 million with The Arab Energy Fund, a package that backs one onshore wind farm and one solar-plus-storage complex in Egypt. The facility runs for three years and is divided between the two developments.
Shadwan, the wind project, receives $50 million. Energy Valley, which combines 1,950 megawatts of solar generation with 3,935 megawatt-hours of battery storage, takes the remaining $100 million.
How the loans work
An equity bridge loan covers a developer's share of project costs in the period before longer-term project financing closes. For Scatec, that timing matters. The company has started construction on the 900 MW Shadwan onshore wind farm alongside EDF Power Solutions, and the bridge funding lets that work begin without a large upfront draw on Scatec's own balance sheet.
Shadwan is being built through Scatec's integrated delivery model, which combines the bridge loan with cash generated by the company's own design and construction activities. Scatec says that structure trims how much equity it needs to commit to the project.
Shadwan by the numbers
The wind farm carries a total capital cost of $716 million. Scatec expects it to rank among the largest onshore wind installations in Africa, generating about 4 terawatt-hours a year and avoiding an estimated 1.6 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
- Shadwan: 900 MW onshore wind, $716 million in capital expenditure, roughly 4 TWh of annual generation.
- Energy Valley: 1,950 MW of solar paired with 3,935 MWh of battery storage.
- Equity bridge loans: $50 million for Shadwan, $100 million for Energy Valley, three-year tenor.
- First phase of Shadwan expected to reach commercial operations at the end of 2027.
EDF stake and additional partners
Scatec and EDF have also signed a joint development agreement that gives EDF a targeted equity stake of 29% in Shadwan. Scatec intends to bring in more equity partners beyond that.
Chief executive Terje Pilskog said the two projects represent a substantial step in the company's plan to build a large renewable portfolio in Egypt, which he described as among the most attractive markets for low-cost, secure and clean energy. The backing from The Arab Energy Fund, he said, amounts to a strong signal of confidence in both developments and allows construction at Shadwan to proceed with limited capital deployment.
What comes next
Mandate letters have been signed with a consortium of development finance institutions for long-term non-recourse project financing. Scatec expects financial close on both projects by the end of the year, with construction at Energy Valley starting in the same window.
Scatec will handle engineering, procurement and construction, asset management, and operations and maintenance for both developments. Shadwan will be built in phases, and its first phase is scheduled to reach its commercial operations date at the end of 2027.
