Image: David Ashford/Flickr
OCBC Bank and a consortium of unspecified lenders will provide financing for a 30 MW PV project that KBJ Hecmy Sdn Bhd is developing in Bukit Keteri, in the Malaysian state of Perlis.
The installation will start feeding power into the grid by the second quarter of next year, according to an online statement. KBJ Hecmy — a joint venture between Konsortium Berseri Jaya and Hanwha Energy Corporation Singapore — will sell the electricity to Malaysian utility Tenaga Nasional under a 21-year power purchase agreement.
“OCBC Bank is committed to the development of renewable energy in Malaysia,” said Tan Ai Chin, managing director/senior banker for client coverage and head of investment banking at OCBC Bank. “Our two-pronged approach is to first cease financing coal-fired power plants and then replace them with greener alternatives.”
The consortium designed the syndicated project financing package in accordance with green loan principles set out by the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA). OCBC Bank is serving as bookrunner and mandated lead arranger.
KBJ Hecmy successfully bid for the project under the Malaysian Energy Commission’s LSS2 tender scheme. It has secured the financing package just one month after the OCBC Group revealed plans to stop financing the development of coal-fired power plants.
Earlier this month, Norwegian PV developer Scatec Solar switched on the second of three 65 MW solar projects it is building in Malaysia, as part of a consortium led by engineering firm ITRAMAS.
Malaysia’s total installed PV capacity reached 438 MW by the end of December 2018, according to statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).