Photovoltaic news and pv jobs

$65 million secured for small-scale solar in SE Asia

The Armstrong South East Asia Clean Energy Fund, said to be the first of its kind in the region, has secured US$65 million in its first funding round. Overall, it aims to raise $150 million for small-scale power generation, including solar, in South East Asia. It is believed the region will become a "highly attractive" small-scale project market.

The Armstrong fund aims to invest in small-scale power generation projects in such areas as Malaysia.

MPIA

On the back of the first successful funding round, led by European development finance institutions GEEREF and DEG, and an unnamed Asian-based corporation, the Armstrong Fund says it expects to make the first solar and mini-hydro deals in the coming months.

By July 2013, it hopes to close another two funding rounds, raising $150 million in total for small-scale solar, wind and mini-hydro power generation projects in such emerging markets as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The goal is to provide early-stage capital to infrastructure developers in the aforementioned regions.

Specifically, the fund is looking to conclude 10 to 15 investment deals, worth between $5 million to $12 million, over 10 years for renewable energy projects under 10 MW in size. According to a statement released, "A key feature of the Armstrong investment strategy is the aggregating or bundling together of multiple small-scale operational project assets in attractive portfolios and investments being realised upon trade-sales. A gross return of 20 percent is projected, alongside significant, quantifiable development impacts."

Commenting, Andrew Affleck, managing partner, Armstrong Asset Management, said, "To date the team has originated a strong pipeline of potential deals and detailed negotiations are underway. We are hopeful of completing one to two key deals soon. Small-scale solar and mini-hydro are two priority sub-sectors the team is currently focused on."

He added, "We are excited as we see the fund’s innovative and differentiated model to be extremely well-suited for the policy framework here and, more importantly, effective in addressing rapidly growing energy demands."

The August edition of pv magazine features an article on the SE Asia photovoltaic end market.