Berde Renewables, Inc. is set for a major capital boost as global infrastructure fund I Squared Capital prepares to double its investment once the company fully deploys its initial USD 100 million equity commitment.

If the second tranche materializes, total investment from I Squared could reach USD 200 million, positioning Berde among the most well-capitalized distributed generation developers in Southeast Asia.

In an interview with Power Philippines, Berde Renewables Co-Founder and Group CEO Morris Zhou said the milestone reflects I Squared’s confidence in the Philippine renewable energy market and the company’s distributed generation strategy.

“We’ve got a USD 100 million equity commitment from I Squared Capital for the first tranche. And once we fully deploy that—meaning we’ve invested it into projects—they’ve already told us they’re happy to double down with another hundred million for tranche two,” Zhou said.

The fresh capital will fund new distributed generation (DG) projects across the Philippines and Southeast Asia, focusing on rooftop and ground-mounted solar for industrial and commercial clients under a zero-capex, long-term offtake model.

Berde’s approach removes upfront costs for customers while taking full responsibility for project financing, operation, and maintenance. “The onerous, the risk, everything is on us,” Zhou said, noting that the model has rapidly gained traction among local conglomerates and multinational companies.

Backed by I Squared’s global portfolio—spanning USD 50 billion in managed assets—Berde has already committed more than 50 MW of projects in the Philippines and aims to reach 100 MW by year-end. The company targets 700 MW of distributed generation assets across ASEAN by 2028, with half of that capacity located in the Philippines.

Zhou said I Squared’s follow-on commitment signals long-term faith in the Philippines as a regional growth hub for renewable energy.

“The bottleneck is definitely not capital,” he emphasized. “We just have to work harder to actually scale up the market in the coming three years.”

Zhou said after establishing its base in the Philippines and Thailand, Berde Renewables is also setting its sights on Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The company, the according to Zhou, is now preparing to replicate its DG model across the rest of Southeast Asia, using Manila as its regional command center.

“Our strategy is to grow into an ASEAN platform,” Zhou said. “We’ll continue building from the Philippines and expand into Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam through local joint ventures and partnerships ,” Zhou said.

“We want to expand by one more market next year so by 2028, we’ll have a coverage of at least four if not five markets.”

With offices in Ortigas, Pasig, Berde now employs over 50 professionals, focusing on project development, asset management, and ESG implementation. The company also operates in Thailand, where it recently expanded a 20 MW rooftop solar portfolio into a joint venture now exceeding 50 MW.

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