AC Energy and Infrastructure Corporation (AC Energy), together with its partner UPC Solar Asia Pacific, reached a financial close for its 100 MW (140 MWp) Sitara Solar Farm in India.
Located in Rajasthan, a desert state with the highest irradiation in India, Sitara Solar has an estimated project cost of $67 million.
The construction of the solar farm started last year and is expected to start its power generation by the first half of 2021. Sitara Solar secured a 20-year loan from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), to be funded through a 75:25 debt-to-equity financing scheme.
This is a major milestone for its joint venture company, UPC-AC Energy Solar, as it targets to achieve more than 1 GW of solar energy portfolio across Asia.
In March 2019, UPC-AC Energy Solar won the power supply agreement for the 100 MW solar project via a competitive bid at INR 2.48 per kWh, fixed over a 25-year period.
“We are very thrilled with this financial close during the current challenging environment, where we were able to meet DFC’s high standards for environmental and social compliances. This project is poised to enhance renewable power supply in India. We had faced many unexpected headwinds due to Covid-19 pandemic,” said Pranab Kumar Sarmah, CEO of UPC-AC Energy Solar and co-founder of UPC Solar Asia Pacific.
This project milestone is the latest in AC Energy’s string of initiatives to sustain its growth momentum and expand its renewables capacity in the Asia Pacific region.
“We are well-positioned to establish a meaningful presence in India and contribute to the country’s renewable energy goals, bringing a total of 450 MW of solar projects under construction and in the pipeline with our partner, UPC Renewables,“ said Patrice Clausse, Chief Operating Officer of AC Energy International.
As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, India ranks third globally in terms of its 2020 renewable energy investments and plans and foresees its electricity consumption jumping to 15,280TWh in 2040. As of November 2020, India’s installed renewables capacity stands at 90.39 GW, with 36.91 GW coming from solar. – BusinessNews.ph
