Scatec’s new sub-Saharan Africa head keen to advance 5GW project pipeline

The newly appointed head of Scatec’s sub-Saharan Africa business, Alberto Gambacorta, says the group is pursuing a 5 GW pipeline of renewable energy and storage opportunities in the region and especially South Africa, which is already the Norwegian group’s global hub for engineering and operations.

Gambacorta, who was named GM for Scatec sub-Saharan Africa on November 6, tells Engineering News that the region remains a priority market for the Oslo-listed company, where it has invested about $2.5-billion since 2011.

Having been a regular and successful participant in South Africa’s various public procurement bid windows for renewable energy, hybrid generation and battery energy storage, Scatec is also positioning itself for the private market opportunities that have come to the fore as a result of regulatory changes.

These will be pursued through the Lyra Energy platform that Scatec launched jointly with Standard Bank and Stanlib earlier in the year and which offers distributed access to utility-scale renewable energy to medium and large commercial and industrial companies.

Gambacorta says the offering relies on a wheeling model, but that the participants are assessing trading prospects and are, thus, paying close attention to regulatory developments relating to the licensing of new traders, which Eskom is currently opposing legally.

He is also keeping close tabs on the potential for independent transmission projects in South Africa, noting that the company has already built many kilometres of power lines and substations in South Africa to connect its plants to the national grid.

Scatec will also continue to participate in public procurement having recently progressed the 103 MW/412 MWh Mogobe battery energy storage project, valued at $170-million, in the Northern Cape to commercial close.

The company is also the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the project and will provide it with operations and maintenance (O&M) as well as asset management services.

In fact, its Cape Town office is also an EPC and O&M global hub, providing such services for Scatec projects and operations globally and even to some third parties.

At about 300, South Africa also has the highest number of employees in the larger group, and Gambacorta, thus, listed talent development as a key priority as he takes up his new role.

Gambacorta himself holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from Universitá degli Studi di Padova, and subsequently completed an Executive Masters in Energy Management from ESCP Business School, BI Norwegian Business School, and IFP - Institute Francais du Petrole.

Having worked for Scatec in Europe, Asia and South America, he moved to South Africa in 2018 where he served as senior VP of business development at Scatec and was instrumental in developing the company's project portfolio in South Africa and Botswana.

"Southern Africa represents a crucial market for renewable-energy development, and I am honoured to take on this role.

"I look forward to working with our talented team and stakeholders to accelerate the country's energy transition and deliver sustainable power solutions," Gambacorta says.