Coara Solar announced the successful financial closing and commencement of construction of Coara Marang Solar farm.
In June 2020, Director of Coara Marang, Susan Hemming, signed a 21-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the country's largest electricity utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). It has now secured a senior debt facility from Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank).
The project of 116 Megawatts (MWp) was developed with Coara's German partner Ibvogt under the third round of the Large Scale Solar (LSS3) scheme issued by Suruhanjaya Tenaga (Energy Commission of Malaysia) in 2019 as part of the government's efforts to increase the country's renewable energy mix from 2% to 20% by 2025.
The power plant located in Marang, Terengganu - in north-east of Peninsular Malaysia, comprising of 245 hectares, will deploy high-class bifacial technology mounted on single-axis trackers, in order to achieve maximum energy production efficiency. Once operational in Q1, 2022, Coara Marang Solar Project will deliver circa 230 GWh of clean energy per year and avoid more than 170,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.
The commencement of construction at Coara Marang Solar Farm has boosted local employment and will give local universities in Terengganu the opportunity to learn and understand renewable energy from industry players like Coara Solar.
"We at Coara are thankful for the commitment and cooperation from the State Government of Terengganu and Terengganu SILICA Consortium Sdh Bhd for being very supportive and visionary for the expansion of large scale Solar Power plants in the region," said Harald Hemming, CEO of Coara Solar.