In Vietnam and the Philippines, millions of families still rely on electricity that puts carbon into the air. Soon, that might start to change — thanks to a fresh wave of financing heading toward clean energy projects across Southeast Asia.
A fund called the Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund has agreed to lend up to $50 million to a company called Ukko Renewable. That money will help build wind farms, solar panels, and hydropower plants that could produce more than 2 gigawatts of electricity — enough to power roughly 2.8 million homes and businesses.
Ukko Renewable is based in France but operates across Southeast Asia as part of a larger company called Groupe Duval. Louis-Victor Duval, the company's chief executive, called the deal a "defining milestone" and said his team wants to become a leading force in Asia's shift away from fossil fuels toward cleaner sources of energy.
The fund's support comes at a crucial stage. Building a wind farm or solar park takes years of groundwork — scouting locations, studying the electrical grid, planning construction. Early on, many projects struggle to find investors willing to take risks before anything is even built. Philippe Valahu, who leads the Private Infrastructure Development Group, said closing that funding gap is central to his organization's plans through 2030. "Mobilising the investment required for Asia's green transition demands strong partnerships between public-backed finance and leading global sponsors," he said.
In Vietnam alone, Ukko Renewable has lined up projects that could generate 1.4 gigawatts under the country's updated Power Development Plan Eight. In the Philippines, the company is expanding wind and hydroelectric assets through the national Green Energy Auction Program.
Christophe Guyard, CEO of Ukko Renewable, said the partnership gives the company the long-term financial backing it needs to move quickly. "EAAIF's deep emerging markets expertise and alignment with international ESG benchmarks make them the ideal institutional partner for our regional strategy," he said.
Once these projects are up and running, they are expected to prevent roughly 2.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year. That is like taking about 480,000 cars off the road.
The debt financing is designed to bring these projects to a "ready-to-build" stage, meaning they will meet international standards and be attractive to commercial banks and long-term investors. Martijn Proos, who helps run emerging market lending at fund manager Ninety One, said the deal shows how targeted lending can unlock bigger investments down the road. "This supports the development of greenfield assets and creates a pathway to attract commercial and institutional investment, accelerating the clean energy transition in Vietnam and the Philippines," he said.
The financing comes at a time when Southeast Asia is rapidly growing its energy needs. Countries in the region have set ambitious targets for adding renewable capacity, but getting projects off the ground requires exactly the kind of patient, early-stage capital that this deal provides. If all goes according to plan, the 2 gigawatts in the initial pipeline — with room to grow beyond 3 gigawatts — could mark the start of something much larger for the region's clean energy future.