Scatec Solar is closely monitoring developments and is following the respective national authorities advice and recommendations regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The Company is taking precautionary measures at all locations to limit the spread of the virus, keep people safe, and ensure continued stable operations of our power plants.
The Company has to date not experienced any impact of COVID-19 on operating assets or on delivery of power to our customers and consider the risk to be low. First quarter 2020 production is expected in line with guidance earlier provided.
Scatec Solar’s projects under construction are close to completion. Travel constraints and local regulations have started to impact construction, commissioning and testing of some of the new solar plants. It is, however, too early to predict what effects this will have on completion dates.
All solar plants require few operators and are remotely monitored and supported by the Company’s global Control & Monitoring Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. The Company has robust contingency plans in place to mitigate any potential operational issues.
“As electricity production is a necessity in both normal and extraordinary times, we as a company is shielded from some of the negative effects many other businesses are facing. However, we all have a joint responsibility to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, to protect the health of our employees, their families and society at large. At the same time, we are implementing all necessary measures to ensure continued delivery of much needed power to our customers” says Raymond Carlsen, CEO of Scatec Solar.
Power supply is generally defined as a critical infrastructure in most countries where Scatec Solar operates and, as such, production and maintenance continues as normal. The Company is selling all production from the global portfolio of power plants to state owned utilities, normally supported by government guarantees, under long term fixed price contracts, with USD, MYR and ZAR being the predominant currencies where long term contracted cash flows amounts to more than NOK 60 billion over the next 20 years.
