AC ENERGY Corp. (ACEN) has partnered with German solar developer ib vogt to build at least 1,000-megawatt (MW) of renewable energy projects in the Asia-Pacific region, the Ayala-led company said on Monday.

“The joint venture partners will focus on late-stage, shovel-ready projects in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Bangladesh, and other countries in the region,” ACEN said in a company disclosure.

It said the minimum operational capacity that will be built “over the coming years” has a potential for “further expansion.”

“Under the terms of the deal, ACEN expects to invest up to US$200-million equity investment in addition to debt funding to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in Asia,” the listed energy platform added.

The two companies will establish a funding platform that will be used for building and running large-scale solar power plants across the region, prioritizing projects that are already in advanced stages of development.

Most of the projects will be derived from ib vogt’s pre-existing projects from its Asia development pipeline that is expected to deliver 5,000 MW, with some of the initial projects already slated for construction this year.

Patrice R. Clausse, president and chief operating officer of ACEN’s international business, said setting up the platform would build both companies’ presence in the region.

“ACEN has a strong history of partnering with best-in-class energy developers to build renewable energy projects across the Asia-Pacific region. ib vogt has a proven track record of developing solar projects across Europe, Asia, and North Africa,” he said.

Meanwhile, ib vogt Chief Executive Officer Anton Milner said the joint venture would accelerate the company’s ability to impact on the transition to clean and sustainable energy in Asia.

“This platform will complement our global strategy of developing a diversified portfolio of high quality IPP (independent power producer) assets,” Mr. Milner said.

On its website, ib vogt said it was provided in November last year with a 40-million-euro syndicated loan by German lender Commerzbank AG to support its working capital needs. ib vogt Chief Financial Officer Carl von Braun noted that the company was facing an important decade for renewable energy.

Berlin-based ib vogt has presence in more than 40 countries. It has built or is building more than 2,500 MW of photovoltaic power plants globally with a project pipeline of more than 40,000 MW.

ACEN aims to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia as it targets to install up to 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025. It now has more than 3,800 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia. Renewables account for 87% of the installed capacity.

At the stock exchange on Monday, shares in ACEN inched up by P0.16 or 1.84% to close at P8.86 each. — Ram Christian S. Agustin

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