by Myrna Velasco November 1,
2015
A Macquarie-led investment fund has
bought into the 80-megawatt solar farm developments in Negros Island that had
been spearheaded by Bronzeoak Philippines of the Zabaleta group.
This batch of the solar project
acquisitions of the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure (PINAI)
covered the 32-megawall La Carlota and 48MW Manapla ventures in Negros
Occidental which are under corporate vehicle Negros Island Solar Power
(IslaSol).
On record, PINAI is under the
management of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA). It lists the
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and
APG Asset Management among its investors.
The La Carlota and Manapla projects
“are currently under construction and scheduled for completion in early 2016,”
developer Bronzeoak has noted.
This is already the second solar
venture buy-in that the Macquarie-led investment firm had engaged in. The first
one was in the San Carlos solar farm that was also developed by Bronzeoak.
“The deal brings PINAI’s Philippine
solar assets to 125 megawatts, adding 80MW to its first 45MW transaction,” the
Zabaleta-led firm said.
The parties have not revealed the
specific transaction amount as well as the details of the projects’ equity
purchase.
Bronzeoak has just indicated that it
“continues to be a shareholder and the operator of the (IslaSol) power plant.”
The solar farm projects are eligible
for availment of feed-in-tariff (FIT) based on rates previously approved by the
Energy Regulatory Commission.
According to Bronzeoak Philippines
president Jose Maria P. Zabaleta, the acquisition of PINAI in the solar
projects had been a manifestation of its “strong commitment to building the
country’s clean energy infrastructure.”
The construction of the IslaSol
project started August this year – and it is expected to top the ongoing solar
race development which had been given the March 15, 2016 FIT availment cut-off
timeframe by the government.
“When connected, the farms are anticipated to
supply over 120,000 kWh (kilowatt hours) of daytime peak power to the
Luzon-Visayas grid,” Bronzeoak said.
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