Singapore group pipelines $100-M microgrid projects

MANILA, Philippines — A consortium of Singapore-based firms will undertake $100 million worth of microgrid projects in the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar in the medium term.

WEnergy Global Pte Ltd., ICMG Partners Pte Ltd. and Greenway Grid Global (GGG) Pte Ltd. have formed a Singapore-based investment entity which aims to build and manage a portfolio of electrification projects within three to four years.

The new company called CleanGrid Partners Pte Ltd. has an investment fund of $60 million, of which $20 million will be used for short-term deployment to finance and operate microgrid project portfolio in Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar.

WEnergy Global CEO Atem Ramsundersingh said the new partnership would combine the experience, expertise and the technologies of the companies involved.

The company noted the lack of access to electricity in the region.

“Having worked with financial institutions, multilateral agencies and national power companies, WEnergy Global knows that the problem of a lack of access to electricity remains a chronic problem in the region,” Ramsundersingh said.

“The near-term solution that delivers on immediate on-the-ground benefits is to build, own and operate smart micro-grids for off-grid electrification, which most multilateral agencies, investment companies and mega power companies are reluctant to embark on,” he said.

WEnergy Global has already set the stage by being an initiator for a microgrid project in Palawan.

This is under Sabang Renewable Energy Corp. (SREC)—composed of Singapore-based WEnergy Global, Gigawatt Power Inc. and Vivant Corp.—which is working on a hybrid-powered micro-grid in Sabang, Palawan in 2019 to reduce diesel consumption and generate savings on rural electrification.

The project consists of 1.4-megawatt peak (MWp) solar PV with a 2.3-megawatt hour (mwh) battery storage system and 1.2-MW diesel generators to power its 14-circuit kilometer distribution facility.

The Palawan project is eyed for rapid replication by CleanGrid Partner in several other places in Southeast Asia to meet the demand for off-grid and decentralized electrification.

“We believe that investors, development and commercial banks and technology manufacturers worldwide must address the challenge to electrify the one billion people on our planet who have no or little access to electricity – of which over 100 million people live in Southeast Asia,” ICMG director Gen Funahashi said.

ICMG Partners aims to bring in new global corporate leaders and innovative technologies in order to enhance the electrification throughout Asia.