SUSI Partners will provide financing to Canopy Power, which will enable the company to provide solutions throughout Southeast Asia.
By partnering with Canopy Power, a Singapore-based developer of microgrid technology, SUSI Partners, through its Asia Energy Transition Fund (SAETF), is bringing clean energy solutions to off-grid regions across Southeast Asia.
Following the establishment of a joint venture with Malaysian business InvestEnergy, SUSI has made its second investment in Southeast Asia, which is devoted to funding and running energy saving initiatives in the area.
As part of the agreement with Canopy Power, the South African Energy Technology Fund (SAETF) will fund microgrid projects that combine solar photovoltaics with battery storage and energy management technology to replace emissions-intensive diesel generators in areas that are underserved by or disconnected from utility grids.
Canopy Power will offer its engineering, procurement, and construction experience to deliver the projects to clients in a variety of industries, including tourism, agriculture, mining, and fisheries, among others, as well as to support rural areas in the United States.
Microgrids not only provide a clean energy solution to end customers who would otherwise be reliant on more polluting alternatives, but they also improve supply security and lower energy costs as a result of the continuously decreasing prices for solar and battery storage systems, according to SUSI’s research.
This is especially essential in locations where there is no access to a centralized grid, which is a problem that is prevalent throughout Southeast Asia, a region that comprises hundreds of islands and other outlying regions.
As a result, decentralised technologies are projected to play a critical role in decarbonising Southeast Asia’s energy system while also achieving the objective of providing power access to a larger and rapidly expanding population.
SUSI Partners, on behalf of the SAETF, seeks to engage in sustainable energy infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia.
SAETF obtained capital commitments from development banks AIIB and FMO, Nordic development finance institutions Norfund and Swedfund, as well as private institutional investors from Germany and Singapore for its first close, which will take place in late May 2021.
The fund’s fundraising efforts are still ongoing, with the ultimate closure of the fund scheduled to take place in 2022.