2017-04-20 03:37:14.924 GMT
By Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) — Asia Clean Capital Ltd. is seeking to raise at least $100 million in new financing as it develops more rooftop solar projects in China.
The financing, which will probably take place in the second quarter, will come from existing stakeholders and new institutional investors, Chief Executive Officer Thomas Lapham said in an interview in Shanghai.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is currently Asia Clean Capital’s biggest institutional shareholder, Lapham said. The company has also gained an investment from the Danish Climate Investment Fund, he said.
The additional financing will help the Hong Kong- headquartered company fund new projects in the world’s biggest solar market. The expansion comes as China maintains its subsidies for rooftop installations even after cutting tariffs this year for large-sized industrial solar plants in remote areas.
Asia Clean Capital, with 80 megawatts of projects currently connected to the grid, expects completed capacity to reach 200 megawatts by the end of the year, said Lapham.
The company is likely to get a power-trading license from the government next month, allowing it to buy idle renewable power in one place for sale to existing customers in another location, said Lapham, adding that the new business may start by the end of 2017.
The company already has customers, infrastructure and the needed power meters in place, he said.
“We don’t have any extra capital expenditures; all we do is power trading,” said Lapham.
Asia Clean Capital’s clients include COFCO Coca-Cola Beverages (Hebei) Ltd., SKF AB, and Unilever PLC.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Feifei Shen in Beijing at fshen11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net
Iain Wilson, Abhay Singh