AC Energy has announced plans to develop a 140MWp solar plant in India through UPC-AC Energy Solar, the company’s joint venture with UPC Solar Asia Pacific.
The estimated US$68 million Sitara Solar facility represents AC Energy’s first major investment in India. The farm will be constructed in the desert state of Rajasthan and is expected to start power generation in the first quarter of 2021, supplying energy to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
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AC Energy, the energy arm of Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corporation, lauded India’s clean energy expansion programmes; the country has a target of 175GW renewables capacity by 2022, including 100GW from solar.
“India is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing markets for renewable energy,” said Eric Francia, AC Energy CEO. “We look forward to participating in this market as we continue to expand around the region, and work towards our goal of reaching 5000MW of renewables by 2025.”
UPC-AC Energy Solar is a 50:50 joint venture between AC Energy (through AC Renewables International), and UPC Renewables (through UPC Solar Asia Pacific) for the development, construction and operation of solar projects in Asia-Pacific.
Pranab Kumar Sarmah, CEO of UPC-AC Energy Solar and co-founder of UPC Solar Asia Pacific, said Sitara Solar forms part of the joint venture’s target of achieving more than 1GW of operational solar projects across Asia in a few years.
“This project is expected to reduce 2.4 million tonnes of CO2 in its life-cycle,” he added. “This is our humble contribution to help India reach its renewable energy goal.”
The development, which will see AC Energy bolster its total renewables capacity to over 1.2GW, comes after the firm secured US$410 million in funds raised through a green bond structure in 2019.
Later in the year, it went on to complete what was then the largest solar installation in Southeast Asia through a multi-project collaboration in Vietnam.
AC Energy aims to exceed 5GW of renewables capacity and generate at least 50% energy output from renewables by 2025. In 2019, its power portfolio registered an attributable capacity of more than 1.8GW in operation and under construction.