AC Energy, UPC Solar JV raises funding to develop 100 MW Rajasthan project

AC Energy and Infrastructure Corporation (AC Energy), Philippino group Ayala’s energy platform, and its partner UPC Solar Asia Pacific, Hong Kong-headquartered UPC Renewables’ solar energy platform, have reached financial close for their 100 MW (140 MWp) Sitara Solar Farm in India.

Located in Rajasthan, a desert state with the highest irradiation in India, Sitara solar project has an estimated cost of US$ 67 million. The construction of the solar farm started last year, and it is expected to start producing power by June end this year.

Sitara Solar secured a 20-year loan from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) through a 75:25 debt-to-equity financing scheme.

This is a major milestone for UPC-AC Energy Solar, a joint venture of the two developers, as it targets to build more than 1 GW of solar energy portfolio in the next few years, with an initial focus on India, South Korea and Taiwan.
UPC-AC Energy Solar won the power supply agreement for the 100 MW solar project in March 2019, at a tariff of INR 2.48 per kWh fixed over 25 years.

Pranab Kumar Sarmah, CEO of UPC-AC Energy Solar and co-founder of UPC Solar Asia Pacific, said, “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 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. “These sustainable developments highlight our commitment to support the country’s aim to source over 60% of energy capacity from renewable sources in 10 years.”

Sitara Solar will supply energy to the government-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), which facilitates the purchase and resale of electricity of solar projects to the benefit of the distribution companies across various states. SECI received a credit rating of AA+ from ICRA Limited on January 2021.