PM Network - March 2009

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Two power players are teaming up to launch what’s being heralded as Asia Pacific’s first renewable energy private trust. The move is aimed at spurring growth and investments in wind, solar, small hydroelectric, biogas and biomass power generation projects throughout the region.

Created by GE Energy Financial Services and Epuron Pte. Ltd. Singapore, a regional subsidiary of the Conergy Group, the Renewable Energy Trust Asia will focus on projects in India, Southeast Asia and South Korea. The trust plans to build a portfolio of projects that will generate 200 megawatts through potential investments

totaling $250 million within the next five years. The first investments could be made by the end of this year.

“This sophisticated investment vehicle offers great opportunities to develop in [the] future even more commercial-scale renewable power projects in Asia Pacific,” says Joachim Müller, managing director, Epuron. The company will handle project development, debt financing, acquisition of hardware and supervision of the construction.

Project leaders also are holding up the trust as a potential model for developing commercial-scale renewable energy projects in other regions as well.

are still projects going forward, and our projects are going forward, but it is getting tighter.”

Invenergy Wind has more than 50 projects in active development in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Outside the United States, a longer-term commitment to renewable energy and more secure pricing options mean greater security for green energy projects, says Ms. Cory.

In the United Kingdom, for example, many countries use feed-in tariffs that guarantee a long-term set price for electricity to renewable energy producers, making payback on these projects seem a lot more likely. “These owners know that if they bring their project online and meet the requirements that they will get paid,” she explains. “It creates less uncertainty.”

Throughout the world, political leaders are heralding sustainable power as way to jumpstart the economy. U.S. President Barack Obama has proposed a $150 billion, 10-year plan to invest in green energy, for example.

And it’s not as if the energy crisis is going to just disappear, especially in emerging markets.

“Meeting energy demand while reducing the carbon footprint is still a need. It shouldn’t be significantly impacted by shorter-term financial

Last year,
66 of the 262
wind projects
announced in the
United States were
canceled or postponed
and more of the same
is expected in 2009.

fluctuations,” Jack Wen, president of GE Energy China, told China Daily in December. The company expects to invest $15 billion in clean energy projects including coal, wind, solar and biofuel in China by next year.