The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide a $235 million loan to B. Grimm Power Public Company Limited for the expansion of renewable energy projects in the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

According to a press release issued by the ADB, the bank had a $57.7 million equity stake in B. Grimm Power as part of the company’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) in July 2017. Previously, the bank also administered a $20 million loan provided by the Canadian Climate Fund for the private sector in Asia under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility.

This investment by the ADB will help B. Grimm Power’s implementation of the ASEAN Distributed Power Project, which is aimed at expanding renewable and distributed power generation into new markets in ASEAN.  These new countries include: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The project will involve the development of distributed and utility-scale solar, wind, biomass, waste-to-energy, gas-fired power, energy storage, as well as other required infrastructure in these countries.

With this financing, B. Grimm Power’s total distributed power generation capacity is expected to increase by over 50 percent to 2.5 GW by the year 2022. The company’s renewable energy share will also rise from the present 10 percent to 30 percent.

Grimm Power is one of the largest power producers in Thailand and a subsidiary of B. Grimm Group, which has been operating in the country’s energy industry since the year 1993. B. Grimm Power currently has a total capacity of 1.78 GW. Of late, B. Grimm has diversified into the renewable energy market as well and currently operates 15 solar power plants and two hydro power plants.

In November 2017, Mercom also reported that ADB agreed to provide a $44.76 million (~₹2.88 billion) grant to help develop 20 MW of grid-connected solar projects in Afghanistan.

ADB is focused on Asia’s renewable energy market. It recently approved a spate of grants and loans for renewable energy projects, specifically solar, in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India.

Ankita is an editor at MercomIndia.com where she writes and edits clean energy news stories and features. With years of experience in the news business, Ankita has a nose for news and an eye for detail. Prior to Mercom, Ankita was associated with The Times of India as a copy editor for the organization’s digital news desk. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Delhi University and a Postgraduate Diploma in journalism. More articles from Ankita Rajeshwari.