Philippines

Governments of cash-strapped developing nations should start exploring a range of innovative financing solutions to support the development of environment-focused infrastructure projects such as financially bankable solar installations, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says in a new report.

Solar Philippines officially opened the country’s first PV module plant with an inauguration ceremony attended by President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this week. It claims the facility in Santo Tomas, Batangas province, will produce 800 MW of solar panels in 2018.

A unit of Goldman Sachs and funds under Tennenbaum Capital Partners have jointly acquired Conergy Asia & ME and its subsidiaries from Kawa Solar Holdings.

PetroEnergy’s clean energy subsidiary receives environmental clearances for construction of 10 MW solar PV plant in the country. Project is the oil firm’s second solar foray.

Meralco is now reviewing proposals from solar developers to beat Citicore Power’s offer to supply 75 MW to 85 MW of PV capacity from three sites at a rate of PHP 3.50 ($0.07)/kWh.

Solar Philippines plans to finish building 1 GW of solar by next year, with roughly half of that capacity to be constructed outside of the Philippines.

Australian stock exchange-listed battery maker Redflow has announced a AU$14.5 million ($11.25 million) funding round, as the Brisbane-based company takes its manufacturing base offshore and turns its attention to a market “sweet-spot” including the off-grid, telecom, commercial and industrial sectors.

The property firm aims to reach that figure within five years, beginning with the commissioning of a 160 MW solar pipeline this year.

The expansion of the Asian solar market in the first quarter of 2017 was broadly similar to the growth seen in the first quarter of last year, although most countries in the region have yet to reveal official installation statistics for the January-March period, the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA) said in a new report.

The Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corporation’s energy-focused arm AC Energy Holdings Inc. has taken control of Bronzeoak Clean Energy (BCE) and San Carlos Clean Energy (SCCE).