The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested $1.7 million in equity for a 20 percent stake in Thailand's Solar Power (Korat 1) Company Ltd., Southeast Asia's largest solar power plant, the IFC said.
The funding would help expand private power generation and help develop rural Thailand, the IFC, the investment arm of the World Bank, said in a statement.
"IFC's support to renewable energy generation in Thailand, specifically solar, will encourage similar investments in the region," Anita George, IFC director for infrastructure, said in the statement.
Solar Power (Korat 1) owns and operates a 6-megawatt grid-tied solar power plant in the Nakhonratchasima province, in northeastern Thailand, the IFC said.
The project supports the government's goal of generating at least 20 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2022, which will improve the supply of clean energy, help move Thailand toward low-carbon growth and reduce reliance on imported energy, it said.
The Thai firm is majority owned by Solar Power Company Ltd., a Thai developer of large, grid-connected, solar photo-voltaic projects. Kyocera Corp has a minority shareholding in SPC.
IFC's investment rights in SPC and its related companies could amount to as much as $20 million if fully exercised, it said.
SPC Korat 1 also has received a minority equity investment from the Energy for Environment Foundation and debt financing from Kasikornbank.
Since 2005, IFC has invested more than $1 billion in renewable energy projects.
