Expertise
ThomasLloyd in Asia-Pacific
A renewable energy pioneer in Asia-Pacific
We built the first utility-scale renewable energy plant in the Philippines, financed by the first loans a Philippine bank ever made to a solar project. We built the fuel supply behind our biomass plants ourselves. In India we took a solar platform from an initial stake to sole ownership.
Philippines: Pioneering a new market
From mandate to market
Our first mandate in the region, in 2009, was as exclusive financial advisor, sole financial sponsor and co-developer to a joint local development platform in the Philippines. Out of it came San Carlos Bio Energy, the first regenerative combined cycle power plant in Asia to run on sugarcane, producing 42 million litres of bioethanol and 60 million kWh of electricity a year.
A plant that had no precedent
In 2013 we started building SaCaSol on Negros Island. A year later it was commissioned in front of 600 international guests, with President Benigno Aquino III and members of his government present, as the first Philippine utility-scale renewable energy plant, 22 MW in its first phase. It supplies up to 50,000 people with electricity.
A market that had no financing
No Philippine bank had financed a solar facility before. Between July 2014 and May 2015 Bank of the Philippine Islands made three loans totalling PHP 1.5 billion to SaCaSol, the first of their kind in the sector and an important transaction in the Philippine capital markets. Two years later the IFC and other sovereign investors signed loan agreements for a facility of up to USD 161 million for our biomass platform.
Selected transactions
The first utility-scale renewable energy plant in the Philippines
SaCaSol, 2014. Co-development, financing, construction and operation of a 45 MW solar power plant at San Carlos City.
- First bank finance for a solar project in the country
- Sold in June 2015 to the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure
- Project volume USD 95 million
The largest solar M&A transaction in South East Asia
ISLASOL, 2016. Co-development, financing and construction of two solar power plants with a combined 80 MW at La Carlota City and Manapla.
- 32 MW and 48 MW, both on Negros Island
- Divested in 2015, before commissioning, to the same investor
- Project volume USD 162 million
The first large-scale power plant to run on agricultural residues
BioPower, 2019. Origination, co-development, financing, construction and operation of three biomass power plants with a combined 70 MW on Negros Island, which we own today.
- Largest international sponsor finance facility to the biomass sector in the Philippines
- Financial close with the IFC, the Clean Technology Fund and the Government of Canada
- Project volume USD 303 million
From Lead Investor to Owner
SolarArise, 2018 to 2024. Acquisition of a stake in SolarArise, a leading Indian solar platform, in 2018 as its largest investor, taken to full ownership in 2023.
- 434 MW across five states, co-invested with the European Investment Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank
- 275 MW of that commissioned in 2021 and 2024, in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
- Project volume USD 249 million
Honours and Recognitions
IFC Sustainable Energy Finance Award
Recognised for our pioneering solar facility in the Philippines, highlighting our commitment to sustainable energy finance.
Solar Power Project of the Year
Awarded to SaCaSol I Solar Power Plant by Charlton Media Group, acknowledging our excellence in solar project development.
Best Practices Award
Presented by Frost & Sullivan for our achievements in solar photovoltaic system integration.
Green Company of the Year
Honoured by Asia CEO Forum for our dedication to green energy initiatives.
At a Glance
Asia-Pacifik
Asia-Pacific is where most of our track record was built: 83 of the 115 projects in our Climate Infrastructure track record are in the region.¹
83
Realised across the region by our Climate Infrastructure team.
22 GW
Across those 83 projects.
14
From the Philippines and India to Japan, Singapore and Tonga.
Sustainable Fuels
One of the largest agricultural fleets in the Philippines
Fuel we grow as well as collect
In 2016 we planted a 93-hectare pilot energy crop plantation thirteen kilometres from the San Carlos plant, and in 2018 we established the plantation and sustainable fuels business that grew out of it. Short rotation coppice on a three-year cycle has yielded 30 to 45 tonnes per hectare a year, significantly above published industry figures.
Enough fuel for our own plants, all year
Our agricultural residues business comprises around 600 machines and cooperates with more than 1,700 farmers across 70,000 hectares on Negros Island. Twelve fuel facilities hold the inventory that keeps the three plants running through the cane harvest off-season. Annual capacity exceeds 700,000 tonnes against a requirement of 658,000 tonnes.
A waste product with five times the volume we need
Negros produces around 3.3 million tonnes of cane trash a year, nearly five times what our plants require. It was historically burned in the fields. We pay farmers to collect it, return the boiler ash as fertiliser, and help them avoid the legal risk of in-field burning under the Clean Air Act.
Beyond Asia-Pacific
Twenty years in North America
ThomasLloyd entered North America and the cleantech sector together in 2005. Going forward, our sustainable energy business will focus on two regions, North America and Asia-Pacific, and in North America that now means mobile power and water for AI data centres.¹²
20+ years
Regulated by the SEC since 2005, when we entered the cleantech sector.3.9 GW
Power plants in gas, bioenergy and solar in the United States and Canada.
6
Mobility, energy efficiency, power, waste, mobile generation and water treatment.Get in touch
At ThomasLloyd, we believe that true impact is achieved through collaboration and innovation. If you have any questions, please reach out.
Footnotes
- Includes all projects where either the Group or current and former members of its Climate Infrastructure Team have developed and/or constructed and/or operated such project in a leading capacity as owner or energy/asset manager on behalf of the owner.
- Includes all projects where either the Group or current and former members of its Sustainable Fuels Team have developed and/or constructed and/or operated such project in a leading capacity as owner or advisor to the owner.