Ep 30 Financing renewable projects across the life cycle

Siva Sreedharan, co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Verdant Energy, a renewable energy IPP focused on Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, shared how renewable energy projects can be financed at different stages of their lifecycle.   Siva walked us through two recent Verdant transactions. The first is the USD 30m acquisition bridge financing provided by EAAIF and Ninety One for a 16 MW wind and 6 MWh battery storage project in Puerto Galera, Mindoro, in the Philippines. The second is a VND 792 billion (c. USD 30 million) 15-year green bond, guaranteed by GuarantCo, which finances 58 MW of C&I rooftop solar in Vietnam and is the country’s first certified green C&I solar bond.   Siva and Ben also discussed the role of private credit, local banks, institutional investors and credit enhancement in financing renewable energy across emerging markets, as well as financing options at the development stage and Verdant’s outlook.

Gavin Adda, CEO of Peak Energy, former head of renewables at TotalEnergies and founder of Cleantech Solar, shared about his journey building the renewable C&I sector in Asia. Gavin delved on topics such as the evolution of the sector, the regulation in different countries, how to scale, the terms to get right in the CPPA, financing and opportunities for the sector in the region.

Cory Combs, Head of critical minerals and supply chain research at Trivium China, is back on the show to cover the energy transition in China. When it comes to energy transition, China is arguably the most dynamic geography globally, leading in many sectors.   Cory and Benjamin discussed a wide range of topics: power market reform, the explosive EV market, battery materials, and the latest developments on critical minerals.

Jean-Louis Neves Mandelli and Frederic Draps, Partners at Arshurst, shared key insights on the new power development plan (RUPTL 2025-2034) and the Indonesian power sector. Drawing on over 10 years of experience covering the market, Jean-Louis and Fred discussed the main takeaways from the RUPTL, the role of private IPPs under the new plan, key challenges, and important considerations for investing in Indonesia’s power sector.

Scott Hsu, Head of Taiwan and the Philippines at K2 Management, provides insights into the development of the offshore wind industry in both regions.   As the project director for Formosa 1 - the first offshore wind project in Taiwan - Scott has witnessed the industry’s evolution from its inception.   He discusses recent developments in Taiwan, including the shift to Corporate PPAs, the relaxation of localization requirements, and the challenges the sector has faced in recent years. Additionally, he highlights the rapid growth of the offshore wind industry in the Philippines, where numerous developers are actively investing in the sector.

Kartikey Hariyani, CEO of Charge Zone, an EV charging infrastructure company in India, speaks about his experience funding the company, the EV charging landscape in India and how to develop and grow in this dynamic market.

Marnix Schrijner and David Plunkett, Head of power market and Korea market expert at Afry, a power market consultancy, are sharing their views on the Korean power market and the latest developments in the Korean offshore wind sector. The two power experts delved into the Korean power market structure, the 11th basic plan, the Korean framework for the offshore wind sector, the result of last year offshore wind auction and the significant changes in this year offshore wind auction mechanism.

Shobhan Dhir, critical minerals analyst at the IEA, presents the key insights from the International Energy Agency (IEA) Critical Minerals Outlook 2024, the latest developments in the EV market, and the different battery cathode chemistries. As part of our conversation, we also covered the supply and demand of two critical minerals that are playing an essential role in the energy transition copper and lithium.   Read the Critical minerals outlook 2024

Cormac O'Laoire, Managing Director at Electrios Energy and head of strategy at Green Li-on presents the different EV battery cathode chemistries. After an early career in academics, Cormac spent over 10 years in Hong Kong following the development of the battery supply chain. In our conversation, we will cover subjects such as the main chemistries, NMC, NCA, LFP, the role played by Korea and China in the industry and latest development of LMFP, sodium iron and solid-state batteries.

Mathieu Geze, Director for Asia at HDF Energy, an European IPP specialised in hydrogen solutions, shares his view on the challenges of decarbonising small grids and how HDF Energy can provide a green baseload solution combining solar, battery and a hydrogen system.   Based in Indonesia, Mathieu explains why HDF Energy has opted to start developing projects in the country and shares the challenges and successes of his journey developing projects in Eastern Indonesia.