AC Energy’s Indonesia wind farm to go live early-2018

By Lenie Lectura – October 23, 2017

from Business Mirror

INDONESIA’S first wind farm being undertaken by AC Energy Inc. and partner is nearing completion, with commercial operations expected to happen early next year.

“Indonesia’s first utility-scale wind farm’s construction stays on track, nearing 70-percent completion and is expected to be ready for commercial operations in the first quarter of 2018,” the power arm of conglomerate Ayala Corp. said on Monday.

PT UPC Sidrap Bayu Energi (UPC Sidrap), the project proponent, has started the installation of 30 Gamesa G114 2.5-megawatt (MW) wind-turbine generators. The wind-farm power project will have a generating capacity of 75 MW and is estimated to cost $150 million.

Also recently, Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan, together with local government officials of South Sulawesi and high-ranking officials of the State Electricity Co. (PLN) in the Sulawesi region, visited the site. The visit, according to AC Energy, demonstrated the government’s support to the ongoing construction of the country’s first commercial wind farm.

AC Energy has partnered with UPC Renewables Indonesia Ltd. for the development, construction and operation of the said wind project in Sidrap, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The project will also be AC Energy’s first greenfield offshore investment through its affiliate AC Energy International Holdings Pte. Ltd., a Singapore private limited company.

Ayala Corp. said the Sidrap project will be funded through equity and project financing to be provided by the Overseas Private Investment Corp., the United States government’s development finance institution, and PT Bank Sumitomo Mitsui Indonesia, the Indonesian subsidiary of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. of Japan.

UPC Renewables is a leading global energy player that develops, finances, constructs, owns and operates a portfolio of wind-power generation assets. The company and its proponents have successfully developed and operated renewable-energy projects in Italy, the US, Canada, China and the Philippines.

UPC Renewables and AC Energy have previously forged a partnership under North Luzon Renewable Energy Corp., the owner and operator of the 81-MW Caparispisan wind-farm project in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.

AC Energy has been expanding its footprint in the Southeast Asian region. Apart from the 75-MW Sidrap wind-farm project, the Ayala energy arm also has a 20-percent stake in Star Energy (Salak-Darajat) B.V., which acquired Chevron’s geothermal operations in Indonesia. The acquisition was a major milestone for the company as it plans to scale up its renewable-energy portfolio to 1,000 MW.