ACEN eyes State Bank of India loan for solar project

MANILA, Philippines — ACEN Corp., the energy platform of the Ayala Group, is looking to secure a 20-year loan from the State Bank of India as it begins the construction of its third joint solar project with UPC Solar Asia Pacific in the country.

UPC-AC Energy Solar, the joint venture (JV) of ACEN and UPC, commenced the construction of their 300 MWac (420 MWp) Masaya Solar farm, allowing it to have a total of 630 MWp across India.

The project  has an estimated  cost of $220 million under a 75:25 debt-to-equity financing scheme.

The JV will supply electricity at Indian Rupee (INR) 2.71 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) fixed over a 25-year period under a power supply agreement with the Solar Energy Corp. of India.

“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,” UPC-AC Energy Solar CEO and UPC Solar Asia Pacific co-founder Pranab Kumar Sarmah said.

Once completed, the Masaya Solar farm will be UPC-AC Energy Solar’s third and largest solar project in India to date.

“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 of] 2021 despite the tumultuous COVID-19 crisis, bodes well for the 420 MWp Masaya Solar project,” ACEN’s International Group head Patrice Clausse said.

“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,” he said.

The Masaya Solar project—located in the Khandwa District, State of Madhya Pradesh—is set to produce 691 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable energy per year while avoiding approximately 635,720 metric tons (MT) of CO2 emissions annually.

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

Sarmah said the Masaya solar project would be a significant addition to India, which 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,” he said.

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.

In October last year, ACEN announced its commitment to net zero by 2050 along with the rest of the Ayala group.

It aspires to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.

The company has over 3,000 MW of attributable capacity across Asia Pacific, 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 within the first quarter of the year.