Solar PV Power (SPP) has reached financial close on a RM43 million (US$9.54 million) Shariah compliant financing facility from AmBank Islamic for its 10 megawatt solar power project in Labuan, Sabah, Malaysia. The facility will finance the construction of the power plant which started last year and is expected to be operational in Q2 this year.
SPP is a joint venture between Jetama Energy, which is wholly owned by Jetama, the government-owned west coast of Sabah water concessionaire, and Symbior Solar, a regional solar photovoltaic (PV) developer. Finergreen, a financial advisory boutique specializing in energy transition and renewable energies, acted as the financial advisor for the sponsor of the transaction.
Eqhwan Mokhzanee, CEO of AmBank Islamic, noted the alignment of this project with its sustainability aspirations as well as its contribution to the mitigation of climate change.
SPP signed a 21-year power purchase agreement with local utility company Sabah Electricity in December 2021. It is the largest solar PV project in Labuan and was awarded based on a joint submission by Jetama and Symbior under the Malaysian Large Scale Solar program.
The project is expected to contribute to reducing carbon emissions from power generation by supplying clean renewable energy to Labuan and Sabah electricity consumers.
“Building infrastructure that is environmentally friendly and supports the economic development in Sabah and Labuan is our mandate and renewable energy has the potential to play an important role in the economic development in the next decades as the world is focused on reducing carbon emissions,” Ahmad Naim, CEO of Jetama, commented.
Commenting on the sustainability features of the project, Florian Bennhold, the director of SPP representing Symbior, noted that the solar PV for the project uses solar trackers to follow the movement of the sun in addition to bifacial panels which have PV cells on the back of the modules to maximize the electricity generation of the facility.