AC Energy, partner to build $36-M solar farm in India

AYALA-LED AC Energy, Inc. and its partner are expanding their network in India with another solar farm in the pipeline.

It said in a statement on Monday that UPC-AC Energy Solar, the joint venture of the Ayala energy arm and Hong Kong-based UPC Renewables Group, is developing a 70-megawatt peak (MWp) solar facility in Gujarat state’s Amreli district. The project is estimated to be worth $36 million.

The company won the 25-year power supply contract of electric utility Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. through a competitive bid of INR 2.55 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The Indian state is said to target 8,000 MW of solar power installations over the next two years.

The Paryapt Solar project is expected to begin power generation in the first half of 2021.

AC Energy’s latest project followed its first solar farm project in the country, located in Rajasthan. The $68-million Sitara Solar facility is also expected to bring power to the desert state starting next year.

India is eyeing to have a total of 175 gigawatt (GW) of clean power capacity by 2022 with 100 GW coming from solar.

AC Energy and UPC Renewables are also partners in the development of two wind project in the Soc Trang province in Vietnam with a combined capacity of 60 MW. The companies first teamed up in 2013 for an 81-MW wind farm project in Ilocos Norte in the Philippines.

The Ayala firm through AC Energy Philippines, Inc., a publicly listed company in the country, is integrating its international businesses with its domestic ventures, as it aspires to become the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia. It targets to build up to 5,000 MW of clean power facilities over the next five years.

On Monday, shares in AC Energy inched up 0.86% to close at P3.51 each. — Adam J. Ang