India-based ACME Solar Private Limited has launched a 50-50 joint venture with Scatec, a company based in Norway to design, construct, build, and operate a large-scale green ammonia production facility in Oman. The facility’s initial phase is projected to produce 100,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year, and it will be expanded to 1.2 million tonnes per year with around 3.5 GW of electrolyser capacity, which will be powered by a solar PV plant with a capacity of 5.5 GWp. The project will be in the Sultanate of Oman’s Duqm Special Economic Zone. Later phases of the facility could potentially be expanded at the same location.
According to the press statement, the partners are in preliminary talks with renowned off-takers for 20–25-year contracts that will serve as the project’s financial foundation. The facility will be funded by a combination of equity and project finance debt.
Scatec develops, builds, owns, and operates solar, wind, and hydro power plants, as well as storage solutions, as a long-term player. Scatec has over 3.5 GW of capacity in operation or under construction on four continents. By the end of 2025, the company plans to have 15 GW of capacity operational or under construction. Meanwhile, ACME Group was set up in 2003, and is one of the leading solar power developers in India with a total portfolio of 8.5 GW.
In February 2022, Scatec and ACME decided to put their 900 MW solar power project in India on hold due to supply chain bottlenecks and rising import duties. The project is worth $400 million. Acme is developing a solar plant in Rajasthan, and Scatec holds a 50 per cent stake in it. The project was supposed to be finished in 2022.
