Symbior, Armstrong fund to develop six solar plants
Armstrong South East Asia Clean Energy Fund has agreed to a strategic cooperation with energy developer Symbior Solar Siam, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Symbior Energy, to develop and operate a portfolio of solar-power-generation projects in Thailand's
The six small-scale solar-power plants will deliver a combined capacity of 30 megawatts to the national grid.
Under the deal, the private-equity fund will invest capital into Symbior Solar Siam’s wholly owned subsidiary Symbior Elements, which holds development and operating rights for the solar projects including land-ownership rights, in return for a 60-per-cent equity interest.
The investment is the first from the newly established Armstrong fund focused on clean-energy infrastructure in Southeast Asia’s emerging markets.
The projects in the portfolio comprise an operational 1MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Northeast and five solar PV power plants in late-stage development totalling 29MW located in the central provinces of Chachoengsao, Prachin Buri and Nakhon Sawan.
The US$150-million (Bt4.5-billion) Armstrong South East Asia Clean Energy Fund, which is scheduled for final close by August, received committed capital totalling $65 million at its first close in August 2012 from European development institutions Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF) and DEG, and an Asia-based corporation.
The 10-year Armstrong fund is investing in small-scale renewable-energy and resource-efficiency infrastructure projects in Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian emerging markets.
