The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Gulf Renewable Energy Company Limited (a subsidiary of Gulf Energy Development Public Company Limited) have signed a USD820 million loan to fund a series of renewable energy (RE) projects in Thailand. This portfolio includes eight ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) plants with a total contracted capacity of 393 MW, and four solar PV plants integrated with battery energy storage systems, totalling 256 MW and 396 MWh of storage capacity.
The financing package includes USD260 million from ADB’s ordinary capital resources and USD529 million in parallel loans from several institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, among others. ADB will also contribute concessional finance of USD31.35 million from the Clean Technology Fund to mitigate the risks associated with solar–battery energy storage projects. These projects align with Thailand’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality and expanding RE capacity, aiming for 50 per cent renewable generation by 2037.