Climate Capital investing up to $10m in Upgrade Energy
By Alena Mae S. Flores – September 9, 2024, 9:00 am
from manilastandard.net
Singapore-based fund manager Clime Capital announced an investment through the South East Clean Energy Fund II (SEACEF II) in Upgrade Energy Philippines (UGEP), a key player in the Philippine solar project landscape.
SEACEF II is looking at investing up to $10 million in UGEP, which intends to use the fund to expedite the deployment of solar energy infrastructure in the country, including projects designed for internal consumption by commercial and industrial customers as well as utility-scale solar projects designed to dispatch clean energy to the power grid.
“We are delighted to provide capital to accelerate Upgrade’s delivery of new solar installations in the Philippines. Clime Capital’s mission is to fund promising clean-energy companies that will contribute toward achieving South East Asia’s net-zero targets,” Clime Capital chief executive Mason Wallick said.
UGEP is a pioneer of solar leasing projects for commercial and industrial customers in the Philippines. It is set to surpass 50 megawatt-peak of cumulative installed commercial and industrial solar capacity by the end of the year. It constructed the largest rooftop solar in the Philippines, inaugurated last year.
UGEP is dedicated to global ESG standards, with a strong commitment to gender diversity practices.
The company is a signatory to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles and is guided by these principles to ensure gender equality in the workplace.
“I am optimistic about the venture, given the immense renewable energy potential in the Philippines. Developing infrastructure is an urgent task so we can meet the Department of Energy’s ambitious targets of 35 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040 – and accelerated funding is essential to seizing the current opportunity,” said Ruth Yu-Owen, Upgrade Energy president and chief executive said.
Pieterjan Vanbuggenhout, Upgrade Energy chief operations officers, said “creating the infrastructure for the Philippines’ decarbonisation journey requires investors that appreciate the country’s renewable energy landscape as well as helping to meet global ESG standards.”
“Clime Capital’s model is designed to meet these requirements,” he said.
Joshua Kramer, Clime Capital chief investment officer, said the company’s strategy of providing both growth capital and long-term ESG guidance is designed to support high-potential clean energy companies through a rapid scale-up process.
