Solar Philippines, Indonesian partner secure $14 million loan for solar farm

MANILA, Philippines — Solar Philippines and its Indonesian partner have secured a $14-million bank loan for the development of a 25-megawatt (MW) solar farm in Kubu District, Karangasem Regency, East Bali.

PT Medcosolar Bali Timur, a joint venture with Medco Energi, Indonesia’s largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company, signed the financing deal with Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).

The loan agreement was signed by Solar Philippines CEO Leandro Leviste and BNI senior vice president Ditya Maharhani Harninda, as well as Medco Power president and CEO Eka Satria and Medco chief financial officer Myrta Sri Utami.

BNI said the loan grant aligns with its plans to focus on financing “environmentally friendly” projects to promote green energy transition in Indonesia.

The project, which started in 2023, was estimated to cost $20 million and slated for energization by year-end, marking the “largest ground-mounted” solar project in Indonesia.

The Leviste-led firm owns 49 percent of PT Medcosolar Bali Timur, and another 49 percent of PT Medco Solar Bali Barat, which is building another 25 MW solar farm in West Bali.

Solar Philippines has been developing the Bali solar projects since 2017, given that Indonesia has one of the world’s lowest solar capacity per capita with about 500 MW of solar operation.

In 2019, the Levisted-led energy firm inked a deal with Medco to submit a bid in the first competitive auction for utility-scale solar of State Electricity Co. or Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).

The 25-MW projects each in East and West Bali were awarded to the joint venture.