AC Energy Achieves Financial Closure For 100 MW Rajasthan Sitara Solar Project

AC Energy and Infrastructure Corp. of the Ayala Group and partner UPC Solar Asia Pacific announced that they reached financial closing on the 100-megawatt Sitara solar farm in India.

The firm had won the project in SECI’s 750 MW solar auction just over a year back, by bidding at a price of Rs 2.48/KwH. The project was its first major investment in India. The other winners in the auction were ACME Solar, Fortum Solar, and Palimarwar Solar.

This is a major milestone for UPC-AC Energy Solar, the joint venture of ACEIC and UPC Solar Asia Pacific, as it targets to achieve more than 1,000 MW (1 gigawatts) of solar energy portfolio across Asia.

With this closure, the firm expects the project to be be online soon, in the first half of 2021 in fact. An interesting aspect of this auction was that all power is being procured for the state of Rajasthan, with the state providing transmission infrastructure land availability.

Sitara Solar has estimated the project cost at US$67 million. The construction of the solar farm started last year.

Sitara Solar has secured a 20-year loan from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), to be funded through a 75:25 debt-to-equity financing scheme.