Southeast Asian tycoons step up investment in renewable energy projects in Indonesia and Vietnam

AC Energy, controlled by Ayala Corp. Filipino billionaire Jaime Zobel de Ayala, and Singapore-based Sunseap Group, invest more than $ 2.4 billion in separate renewable energy projects in Southeast Asia, as countries in the region accelerate their transition towards a carbon-free future.

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Sunseap, backed by the energy company of Thai billionaire Isara Vongkusolkit Banpu pcl and Singapore state investment subsidiary Temasek, said on Wednesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Badan Pengusahaan Batam to build a solar farm floating and a $ 2 billion energy storage facility on the Indonesian island of Batam, about 45 minutes by ferry from Singapore.

The floating solar farm, which can generate 2.2 gigawatts of peak electricity, spans 1,600 hectares on the Duriangkang Reservoir in the southern part of Batam Island, making it the world’s largest floating photovoltaic system to the world, Sunseap said. The energy storage facility will also be the largest in the world, with a capacity of over 4,000 megawatts per hour, he added.

Founded in 2011, Sunseap quickly grew to become a leading producer of solar power, with over 2 gigawatts of energy projects under contract in Asia. In March, the company completed a floating solar farm in Singapore, where it also installed solar panels on the roofs of more than 3,000 buildings.

Sunseap, which counts Amazon and Microsoft among its customers, said it expects the Batam solar farm to generate more than 2,600 gigawatt hours of electricity per year, potentially offsetting more than 1.8 million metric tonnes of carbon per year. year. This is equivalent to taking over 400,000 cars off the road each year.

“This large-scale project is an important milestone for Sunseap, which comes shortly after we completed Singapore’s first offshore floating solar farm along the Strait of Johor,” said Frank Phuan, co-founder and CEO of Sunseap. “We believe that floating solar systems will go a long way in addressing the land constraints that urbanized regions of Southeast Asia face by harnessing renewable energy. “

Companies in the region have stepped up investments in renewable energy sources as governments seek to phase out power plants that run on coal and other fossil fuels.

AC Energy, the renewable energy arm of the oldest Filipino conglomerate Ayala Corp., said on Wednesday it is investing $ 445 million to build five wind farms in Vietnam with a combined annual capacity of 440 megawatts of electricity.

The company and its partners already operate solar and wind farms in Vietnam, generating 525 megawatts per year. The group aims to build 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity in the southeast by 2025.

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In Southeast Asia, the Philippines is one of the most fossil fuel dependent countries, with more than half of the country’s total electricity production in 2020 coming from coal-fired power plants. San Miguel Corp. billionaire Ramon Ang is trying to change that by abandoning coal-fired power projects and investing $ 1 billion to build 31 new battery-powered energy storage facilities, with a nominal capacity of 1,000 megawatts, across the country.