First appeared in
Asian Development Bank
100 Climate Actions from Cities in Asia and the Pacific
The importance of green bonds for financing the green transition has been highlighted by the financing of Thailand’s largest wind farm.
The importance of green bonds for financing the green transition has been highlighted by the financing of Thailand’s largest wind farm.
The 260 MW Hanuman Wind Farm is the largest onshore wind farm in Thailand and is expected to reduce the country’s annual carbon emissions by 200,000 tons annually. The green bonds issued for the wind farm, the first for a wind power project in Thailand, represent the country’s third Climate Bonds Standard-certified climate bond issuance and the second by a Thai energy company. The issuance will support the long-term financing of Energy Absolute, one of the largest renewable energy companies in Thailand, through refinancing of short-term supplier credit that was used to help construct the wind farm.
200K
TONS OF CO₂ EQUIVALENT SAVED ANNUALLY
TONS OF CO₂ EQUIVALENT SAVED ANNUALLY
The green bond issuance for the Hanuman Wind Farm contributes to the evolution of the green bond market while supporting the clean energy ambitions of Thailand’s Power Development Plan. It is anticipated that the attractiveness of the green bond market in Thailand, which has the largest bond market among Association of Southeast Asian Nations markets, is only expected to increase.
For the project, ADB provided a Thai baht loan of $97.4 million equivalent, and certified the entire green bond issuance, which attracted co-financing of $227.3 million equivalent.
Thailand’s Power Development Plan aims to increase the portion of renewables to 15%–20% in the energy mix by 2036 (photo by Energy Absolute).
The Challenge
Renewable sources contribute around 10% of the Thai energy production, emphasizing the importance of green bonds in financing. With its first green bond issuance, Energy Absolute seeks to demonstrate the potential of green bonds for clean energy innovation and contributing to climate targets.
Co-Benefits
Economic Green bonds can help issuers to attract low cost capital from investors with an interest in sustainability and climate change.
Environment The proceeds from the green bonds are used to fund, in part or in full, new or existing projects that deliver environmental or climate-related benefits.