Acwa Power will develop two floating solar PV projects for PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Indonesia’s state-owned electric utility.

This marks the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based company’s first move into Indonesia, as well as the first floating solar PV projects in its portfolio.

The Saguling Floating Solar PV Project and Singkarak Floating Solar PV Project will have 60-megawatt (alternating current) and 50MWac generation capacity respectively, and a combined investment value of US$105 million.

Acwa Power has a 49% equity stake in both projects, with the rest being held by Indonesia Power, a subsidiary of PLN.

PLN controls, owns, and operates approximately 69% of the generation capacity in Indonesia. It is also the sole buyer of electricity produced by independent power plants in the country, including electricity generated from renewable energy sources.

Indonesia aims to achieve its renewable energy target of 23% by 2025, under the country’s National General Energy Plan.

As of the end of 2021, PLN controlled more than 64.5 gigawatts of the country’s generation capacity.

As a next step, PLN and Acwa Power will finalize the power purchase agreements for these projects

The Saguling and Singkarak projects are Acwa Power’s second and third projects in Southeast Asia, after the 500MW Vinh Hao 6 Power Plant in Vietnam.

In another sign of its rapid global expansion, Acwa Power recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to finance sustainable infrastructure projects.

The MOU was signed on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by Paddy Padmanathan, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Acwa Power, and Nandita Parshad, managing director, sustainable infrastructure group, at EBRD.

The document envisages the continued cooperation of both organizations over the next five years, and will focus on project development in renewable energy, green hydrogen and green desalination.

The countries of focus include Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Egypt, with the ultimate objective of jointly supporting sustainable energy transition and enabling power and water access in line with local and global environmental objectives.

Acwa Power has worked with EBRD since 2011, with the latter financing multiple projects of the energy firm in the Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.