Infrastructure Investor: Actis makes first South Korean renewables investment

Following the announcement of Actis’ investment in Argo Energy – the firm’s first energy investment in South Korea – Tareq Sirhan, Head of Energy, North Asia at Actis, spoke with Infrastructure Investor. In his interview, Tareq discusses the energy landscape in South Korea and the strategic rationale for the investment in Argo Energy. Click here to read the full article and read some of Tareq’s comments below.

Tareq Sirhan, Head of Energy, North Asia at Actis, commented:

“There are some markets like the US or the Middle East where you can get a massive plot of land and do hundreds of megawatts in one go, whereas here the footprint of the land available is much smaller because it’s quite mountainous terrain, and access to the grid may not be easy.

“This model of building on rooftops makes it a lot easier because you minimise the civil works that you have to do, while the small-scale solar means you’re not putting too much pressure on the grid in one go. It’s easier to connect 1MW than it is to connect 50MW.

“There’s a really strong demand for corporate PPAs but a shortage of supply of decent projects. So, if you have the project, you can get a PPA.

“We felt that with our ability and experience across different platforms we could help this business to scale up efficiently – and efficiency really is key when you do lots of small projects.”