Scatec unveils $11.8 billion renewable energy investment plan

OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian renewable energy producer Scatec plans to invest 100 billion Norwegian crowns ($11.8 billion) by the end of 2025 in a drive to increase output capacity fivefold, the company said on Tuesday.

Originally a solar power producer, Scatec has expanded to hydro and wind power as well as electricity storage to capitalise on a global boom in demand for renewable energy.

The company produced just over 3 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity across 3.3 gigawatts of installed capacity in 2020, and the company plans to expand its portfolio to 15 GW over the next four years.

It maintained its goal to hit a capacity of 4.5 GW by the end of 2021.

Last year, Scatec bought hydropower producer SN Power in a $1.17 billion deal that added both cash flow and scale.

Between 15 billion and 20 billion crowns of investment will be funded by equity, most of which will be generated by the company's ongoing business, and Scatec will also pay an annual dividend to shareholders, it said.

"Dividends will grow with increased long-term cash flow," the company said, adding that it plans to pay out a minimum of 25% the cash received from its operating power plants from 2021 onwards.

($1 = 8.5058 Norwegian crowns)

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Nora Buli and Louise Heavens)