AC Energy (ACEN), Philippino group Ayala’s energy arm, and UPC Solar Asia Pacific, Hong Kong-based UPC Renewables’ solar energy platform, have commenced constructing their 420 MWp (300 MW AC) Masaya solar farm in the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh.
The Masaya solar farm, located in the Khandwa district, is being developed through their joint venture company UPC-AC Energy Solar. Once completed, it will be UPC-AC Energy Solar’s third and largest solar project in India to date. UPC-AC Energy Solar has so far commissioned two solar farms aggregating to 210 MW (150 MW AC) capacity in India. The joint venture’s maiden projects include 140 MW (100 MW AC) Sitara Solar farm in Rajasthan and 70 MW (50 MW AC) Paryapt Solar in Gujarat.
The Masaya Solar farm will supply electricity at a fixed price of INR 2.71/kWh under a 25-year power supply agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India. It is expected to produce 691 GWh of renewable energy per year while helping to offset approximately 635,720 MT of CO2 emissions annually. The project is also estimated to create approximately 500 jobs during its construction stage.
The project, with an estimated cost of US$220 million, will be funded by UPC-AC Energy Solar under a 75:25 debt-to-equity financing scheme. The JV is in the process of securing a 20-year loan from the State Bank of India to fund the project.
“We are delighted that our partnership with UPC Solar continues to bear fruit in India. The success of our maiden projects, both reaching operational status in Q2 2021 despite the tumultuous COVID-19 crisis, bodes well for the 420 MWp Masaya Solar project,” said Patrice Clausse, Head of ACEN’s International Group. “Though the pandemic continues to present challenges, we are confident that we will complete the construction of this solar development safely and at the earliest possible time, to contribute even more meaningfully to India’s renewable energy goals.”
“Working hand-in-hand with an extremely competent and enthusiastic team in India and beyond, I am confident that this project will stand the test of both time and budget in this challenging COVID scenario. India is one of the world’s largest consumers of energy and producers of renewable energy. We understand the country’s urgency to increase its production of renewables to help meet the demand and support the country’s progress.” said Pranab Kumar Sarmah, CEO of UPC-AC Energy Solar and co-founder of UPC Solar Asia Pacific. “This landmark development will be a significant addition to the country’s renewables capacity.”
AC Energy has over 3,000 MW of attributable capacity across the Asia Pacific, with 18,000 MW in its pipeline of renewables projects being developed organically and with its various partners across the region. An estimated 500 MW of these projects are expected to reach a financial close by Q1 2022.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.