Ayala unit, partner kick off construction of solar farm

BY LENIE LECTURA – JANUARY 31, 2022
from Business Mirror

AC Energy Corp. (ACEN), the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, and its partner UPC Solar AsiaPacific, announced the start of the construction of their solar farm in India.

Their latest solar farm will have a capacity of 420-megawatt peak (MWp). It is located in the Khandwa District, State of Madhya Pradesh, and is set to produce 69-gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy per year while avoiding approximately 635,720 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.

The project will also create approximately 500 jobs during its construction stage.

Once completed, the Masaya Solar farm will be UPC-AC Energy Solar’s third and largest solar project in India to date. Their joint venture company, UPC-AC Energy Solar, have built a total of 630 MWp across India.

UPC-AC Energy Solar is in the process of securing a 20-year loan from the State Bank of India to fund the project with an estimated project cost of $220 million under a 75:25 debt-to-equity financing scheme, with the joint venture supplying electricity at INR 2.71 per kWh fixed over a 25-year period under a power supply agreement with the Solar Energy Corp. of India.

“We are delighted that our partnership with UPC Solar continues to bear fruit in India. The success of our maiden projects, both reaching operational status in second quarter 2021 despite the tumultuous Covid-19 crisis, bodes well for the 420 MWp Masaya Solar project,” said Patrice Clausse, Head of ACEN’s International Group.

“Though the pandemic continues to present challenges, we are confident that we will complete the construction of this solar development safely and at the earliest possible time, to contribute even more meaningfully to India’s renewable energy goals.”

Pranab Kumar Sarmah, CEO of UPC-AC Energy Solar and co-founder of UPC Solar Asia Pacific, said the landmark development will be a “significant addition” to the country’s renewables capacity.

“Working hand-in-hand with an extremely competent and enthusiastic team in India and beyond, I am confident that this project will stand the test of both time and budget in this challenging Covid scenario.

India is one of the world’s largest consumers of energy and producers of renewable energy. We understand the country’s urgency to increase its production of renewables to help meet the demand and support the country’s progress,” said Sarmah.

Masaya Solar in India is the latest in ACEN’s string of initiatives to expand its renewables footprint in the region and lead the charge in the renewables revolution.

The company has over 3,000 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia, with 18,000 MW in its pipeline of renewables projects being developed organically and with its various partners across the region.

An estimated 500 MW of these projects are expected to reach financial close by the first quarter of this year.

ACEN’s aspiration is to become the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.