Greenergy eyes P415M infusion from Swiss fund

Greenergy Holdings Inc. (formerly MUSX Corp.) is expecting a P415-million capital infusion from Cleantech Projekgesellschaft mbH, a fund managed by ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management (Switzerland) AG of Zurich.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Thursday, Greenergy said it had signed an investment agreement with Cleantech, which was expected to subscribe to 20.78 billion primary shares of Greenergy for 2 centavos per share, or a total subscription price of P415.5 million.

Greenergy said it was planning to invest the amount in the new 18-megawatt biomass power plant of San Carlos BioPower Inc. in the Visayas. The project will be undertaken by a subsidiary that Greenergy is planning to establish.

Data from the website of San Carlos BioPower showed that the 18-MW biomass facility would be a greenfield stand-alone power plant that could supply baseload power to the local grid. The facility will use sugarcane residues as feedstock.

“The facility will provide electricity to an area where there is short supply of and increasing demand for power, and will provide an additional source of income to the local farming community. San Carlos BioPower is committed to providing sustainable power from renewable sources of energy and to maintaining the environmental integrity of the surrounding area upon its completion in late 2013,” San Carlos BioPower said.

In the meantime, Greenergy disclosed that it was expecting additional subscription agreements with Cleantech involving P252 million worth of shares. These are expected to be completed within 45 days from the closing of the first agreement.

Greenergy is also investing in local biofuel firm Isabela Alcogas Corp., which is engaged in the manufacturing and trading of ethanol and other biofuels.

It earlier acquired the so-called “usufruct” rights to 15,000 hectares of land in connection with its plan to put up a cogeneration bioethanol and power plant.

Greenergy is also into renewable energy projects and has plans to embark on $1.3 billion worth of wind power projects in the country, which will have more than 1,000 megawatts in combined capacity over the next 10 years.

It has teamed up with China-based Tianjin Tianbao Investment and Development Corp. (TTIDC) for the joint development, funding and operation of the proposed renewable energy projects.