AC Energy and Infrastructure Corp. (ACEIC) and its partner UPC Solar Asia Pacific have reached financial close for the 100-megawatt (MW) Sitara solar farm in India.
The project secured a 20-year loan from the US International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) to be funded through a 75:25 debt-to-equity financing scheme.
Located in Rajasthan, a desert state with the highest irradiation in India, the Sitara solar farm has an estimated project cost of $67 million. Construction started last year. The project is expected to start generation by the first half of 2021.
The company has a power supply agreement for 100 MW through a competitive bid at INR2.48 per kilowatt hour, fixed over a 25-year period.
Patrice Clausse, AC Energy International chief operating officer, said the company is “well-positioned” to establish a meaningful presence in India and contribute to the country’s renewable energy goals and bring in a total of 450 MW of solar projects under construction and in the pipeline with UPC Renewables.
The Sitara solar farm will supply energy to the government-owned Solar Energy Corp. of India which facilitates the purchase and resale of electricity of solar projects to the benefit of the distribution companies across various states.
In a separate disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, AC Energy Corp. (ACEN) said it signed a subscription agreement with its subsidiary ACE Endevor Inc. for 3.5-million redeemable preferred shares at P350 million.
Proceeds of the subscription will be used by Endevor to fund its projects’ pre-development and equity funding requirements.
Endevor is a subsidiary of ACEN for project development, management and operations platform.
ACEIC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corp. and serves as the holding company for energy and infrastructure businesses and owns majority interest in ACEN.
The Ayala Group expects to have over P30 billion available funding this year for its energy projects to achieve a portfolio of renewable energy to 2,500 MW by year-end.
Its current renewable portfolio stands at 1,350 MW, 900 MW of which are outside the Philippines while the remaining 450 MW are located locally.
The Group targets to reach a total of 5,000 MW by 2025.
