ADB and GRE to develop Thailand’s first major solar-BESS fleet in $350m deal

ADB-led financing accelerates Thailand power sector decarbonisation.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Gulf Renewable Energy Company Limited (GRE) signed a $350m loan agreement to expand renewable energy generation and decarbonise the power sector in Thailand, according to a press release.

The financing supports the construction of three projects: two solar-plus-battery energy storage systems (BESS) with a contracted capacity of 126 megawatts (MW) and 151 megawatt-hours of storage, alongside a solar power plant with a capacity of 68 MW.

The projects are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 191,550 tonnes per year, in line with Thailand’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

They also form part of the country’s 5-gigawatt renewable energy feed-in tariff programme, marking Southeast Asia’s first large-scale solar and BESS procurement.

ADB acted as the sole mandated lead arranger and bookrunner for the transaction, with the funding package consisting of $75m from ADB ordinary capital resources and a $50m B-loan from DBS Bank Ltd.

Additional components include $150m in parallel loans from DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, Development Finance Institute Canada Inc., and Export Finance Australia.

The ADB-administered Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund 2 provided $75m, the press release said.