Armstrong commits $30m to Thai solar, biogas projects
Southeast Asian cleantech investor Armstrong Asset Management has committed $30 million to solar and biogas projects being developed by Thailand’s Annex Power. The capital will be used to expand the company’s engineering, procurement and construction activities in Thailand and explore new opportunities in the Philippines and Indonesia.
Annex, which spun out from global solar group Conergy in 2008, has completed solar photovoltaic power plants in Thailand with a total capacity of 58 megawatts. It has secured contracts for projects that will produce a further 30 MW.
Annex previously received a growth round of funding in 2011, led by E+Co, a specialist investor in emerging markets renewable energy.
Andrew Affleck, managing partner at Armstrong, said Annex was attractive due to its track record and the fact that its type and scale of projects are a good fit for Armstrong's Southeast Asia Clean Energy Fund.
The fund, which is expected to reach its $150 million target in September and counts the International Finance Corporation among its LPs, provides development capital to small-scale renewable energy and resource efficiency projects. The typical project will have a capacity of up to 10 MW and receive $5-12 million in funding.
Armstrong made its debut investment in April with the acquisition of a 60% interest in a portfolio of projects controlled by Symbior Solar Siam (SSS), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Symbior Energy. The portfolio comprises six small-scale solar developments in central and northeast Thailand with a combined capacity of 30 megawatts.
Thailand's renewable energy market is the most established in Southeast Asia. The government wants 25% of national energy needs to be met by renewable sources by 2021. It has set a target solar power capacity of 3,000 MW. Fossil-based fuels currently account for more than 90% of Thailand's energy supply.
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