GE has teamed up with EPURON Pte. Ltd. Singapore, a subsidiary of Conergy, to form the first renewable energy trust in the Asia Pacific region. The joint venture, to be called The Renewable Energy Trust Asia, or RETA for short, will invest in various types on renewable energy in the Asia Pacific market. Here are some more details about how the venture will work:

“RETA”) is an investment vehicle focused on the US$7 billion annual renewable energy markets of India, the ASEAN countries and South Korea. It plans to build a portfolio of some 200 megawatts through potential investments totalling US$250 million (S$380 million) within the next five years.

With an 80 percent stake, GE Energy Financial Services will serve as RETA’s anchor investor. In addition to maintaining its core expertise in greenfield development, EPURON will hold a 20 percent stake in RETA and act as its Trustee-Manager. EPURON will be responsible for project development, debt financing, acquisition of hardware and supervision of the construction of renewable energy projects. After projects have been completed, EPURON will manage them. RETA will acquire and operate renewable energy projects from both EPURON and third parties and expects to make its first investment within a year. GE Energy Financial Services will share expenses, deciding on each proposed investment when presented.

Once a sufficient investment volume has been achieved, RETA may be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (“SGX-ST”) stock exchange, becoming the first pure-play renewable energy business trust to be listed in Asia-Pacific.

This first “green” trust in Asia-Pacific and the collaboration with GE serve as a potential model for realising commercial-scale renewable energy projects with the Conergy Group in other regions.