Ayala-led ACEN and Berlin-based multinational solar plant developer ib vogt have agreed to form a joint venture (JV) to construct large-scale solar farms worth 1,000 megawatts (MW) in five countries across Asia outside the Philippines.
The joint venture (JV) partners will focus on late-stage, shovel-ready projects in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Bangladesh, and other countries in the region.
Under the terms of the deal, ACEN expects to invest up to $200 million equity investment in addition to debt funding to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in the region.
The majority of projects will stem from ib vogt’s Asia development pipeline of more than 5,000MW with initial projects up for construction within the year. The JV will also be open to acquire late-stage projects from local and regional developers.
“We are enthusiastic to be working with ACEN and are convinced that the combination of the unique skill sets and strengths of both parties will accelerate our ability to impact on the transition to clean, sustainable energy in Asia. This platform will complement our global strategy of developing a diversified portfolio of high quality [independent power producer] assets,” ib vogt CEO Anton Milner said in a statement.
“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, and we are very excited to partner with ib vogt as we set up a platform to continue building out our presence across the region together,” said ACEN Renewables International Pte. Ltd. (ACEN International) President and COO Patrice Clausse.
ACEN disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday that it is investing $140.2 million (around Php7.21 billion) in ACEN International, its Singapore-based subsidiary. The transaction is subject to approval by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore.
Both moves are towards achieving the company’s goal to have a 5,000MW all-RE portfolio by 2025 and become Southeast Asia’s largest-listed RE firm.