A Leading Developer, Owner and Operator of Clean Energy Projects in Key Markets That Are Perennially Short Of Electricity, Particularly In Non-Urbanized Areas:Sindicatum Renewable Energy Company

The key markets of South and Southeast Asia are perennially short of power and have adopted strong policies and programs to promote renewable energy development. A significant proportion of the build-out of renewable energy capacity in these markets will come from distributed energy assets (5 to 50 MW projects). Such projects require a substantial knowledge of the relevant country’s social and economic fabric, the ability to operate in difficult environments by involving local counterparties and the skill to manage smaller assets cost-effectively.

Founded in 2005 in the United Kingdom, Sindicatum Renewable Energy Company (Singapore) (“SREC”) develops, owns, and operates clean energy projects in South and South East Asia. At the core of SREC’s track record is the proven ability to identify, develop, invest, finance and operate small-scale renewable energy projects in its target markets of South and South-East Asia. A key feature of each of SREC’s projects is a secure supply of fuel which ensures its projects are not constrained in their ability to generate power or exposed to fuel price risk.

Having developed and financed 17 renewable energy projects, SREC is preparing to expand its asset base with the addition of a number of development projects in South East Asia and India.

The company established businesses in China (2006), India (2007), South East Asia (2007) and in the United States (2007) and moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2009 to be closer to Sindicatum’s assets, most of which are in Asia. In 2011, Sindicatum Sustainable Resources replaced its previous trading name (Sindicatum Carbon Capital) because it more accurately describes what it does.

Sindicatum Projects

Solar Energy Projects

Sindicatum Renewable Energy Company is building solar assets in India, the Philippines, Thailand,and Indonesia. Where possible, these are “bolted on” its existing sites and assets, leveraging its relationships with its current project partners.

All the countries Sindicatum operates in are implementing an aggressive solar power policy and the company is focused on utility-scale solar power projects, provided they are secured, as much as possible, in a non-competitive environment and meet its required rates of return criteria.

Wind Power

With increased reliability and continuously improving operations, wind generation capacity is expected to increase by 3.7GW by 2020 across Southeast Asia, with greater penetration in the following decade.

With the increase of efficiency, wind generation is moving rapidly towards grid parity with fossil fuel alternatives, which is expected by 2020 in the countries in which SREC operates. The wind has the advantage of being able to deliver electricity efficiently through wind farm sizes that are much smaller than comparable fossil plants, which offsets the impact of the intermittent nature of wind generation on the distribution and transmission systems.

Bagasse Cogeneration Projects

By partnering with sugar mills, SREC secures ownership of a captive agricultural waste (bagasse) which it can efficiently utilize in order to satisfy the sugar mill’s internal heat and power requirements whilst producing clean power for export. SREC plans to build a portfolio of more than 500MW of sustainable biomass projects by forming joint ventures with a number of leading sugar companies. To achieve this, SREC will invest in the installation of modern and highly efficient cogeneration equipment at existing or newly setup sugar mills, thereby maximizing the generation (and export) of clean power from the bagasse generated in the sugar mills.

While the sugar company contributes its power assets, SREC contributes capital and expertise to install modern and efficient equipment, hence significantly increasing power generating capacity. The projects benefit from a secure and captive fuel supply base comprising 100% of the host’s bagasse supplemented, if necessary, by biomass from within their area of sugar cane supply to allow for extended power generation beyond the sugar cane season. During the modernization process, the existing plants remain in operation, generating revenue if there is a grid connection allowing them to export surplus power.

Sindicatum Foundation

Sindicatum Climate Change Foundation (SCCF) is in a unique position because it is part of Sindicatum Sustainable Resources Ltd. (“SSR”), a leading project finance company active in the emissions abatement and clean energy markets.

This background helps to develop a pragmatic and commercially-savvy approach to charitable activities around the world. The company understands renewable energy technologies and is capable of making rapid assessments of their viability in any given context.

Sindicatum will implement this approach to fulfill its purpose: Addressing the challenge of Climate Change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and by supporting adaptation to its impacts, while also considering related opportunities for sustainable development.

Howdy Chief!

Assaad Razzouk, CEO of Sindicatum: Assaad is Group Chief Executive of Sindicatum Sustainable Resources. At Sindicatum, Assaad is responsible for overall strategy, stakeholder relationships and the project investments managed by Sindicatum’s business units.

Assaad is a Board member of the Climate Markets & Investment Association, establishing CMIA’s Asia Chapter. He is also a Board member of ASrIA, the Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investing in Asia; and a commentator on climate change, natural capital,and clean energy. His Op-Eds have been published by, among others, London’s The Independent, Singapore’s Eco-Business, the Ecologist and others. Assaad is a graduate of Syracuse University (Summa Cum Laude) and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. 

“We undertake our work because we believe in the strength of our company, of our business and in the importance of what we do in helping nations achieve their dual goals of economic growth and protecting the environment.”