AC ENERGY, Inc., along with its Vietnamese partner, has signed construction and financing contracts for the development of solar plants in Vietnam valued at an estimated $83 million, the Ayala-led company said during the weekend.
In partnership with AMI Renewables Energy Joint Stock Co., the Ayala Corp. energy platform signed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and financing documents to build solar farms with a total capacity of 80 megawatts (MW).
“We are excited to expand our development initiatives in Vietnam and work with our local partner AMI Renewables,” said AC Energy President and Chief Executive Officer Eric T. Francia in a statement.
“We appreciate the strong commitment of the Vietnam government to promote renewables, and the strong support from our banking partners that are providing project finance,” he added.
The joint venture, which plans to build the solar projects in the provinces of Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak, targets the commissioning date ahead of the June 2019 solar feed-in tariff deadline in Vietnam.
The projects will be financed with debt and equity, said AC Energy, adding that it will participate with at least a 50% economic share.
Indovina Bank of Vietnam and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) of the Philippines will provide non-recourse financing for the Dak Lak and Khanh Hoa projects, respectively.
Last year, AC Energy formed a platform company with AMI Renewables to build renewable energy plants in Vietnam, including the 352-MW Quang Binh wind project.
It becomes AC Energy’s second renewable energy platform in Vietnam after it partnered with BIM Group of Vietnam to develop more than 300 MW of solar power in the regional neighbor.
In January this year, the joint venture broke ground with a 30-MW solar project valued at 800 billion Vietnamese dong or P1.8 billion, with plans to expand the capacity to more than 300 MW in Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan province.
In August, the joint venture signed EPC and financing documents, increasing the target capacity of the solar farm to 280 MW. The project is estimated to cost around $237 million, which will be financed by debt and equity. AC Energy will participate with a 30% voting stake and about 50% economic share.
AC Energy, a fast-growing energy company with more than $1 billion of invested and committed equity in renewable and thermal energy, aspires to develop 5 gigawatts of attributable capacity and generate at least 50% of energy from renewables by 2025. — Victor V. Saulon

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR