Major M&A Update for Renewable Energy Sector in India

Leading U.S. based thin-film solar panel company, First Solar is looking at selling 45 MW of its solar assets in India. These assets are located in the southern state of Karnataka and the company is looking for both financial and strategic investors. The sale is expected to generate close to Rs. 300 crore for First Solar. The company had sold 190 MW of solar power assets located in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to  IDFC Alternatives back in 2017. First Solar’s strategy is to build these assets and sell them subsequently at the opportune time.

“First Solar’s primary business is making solar panels and that is the focus area for them. They build these assets with the aim to eventually monetize them when there is an opportunity, given that the strategy is not to hold on to these assets for long periods of time,” said a person aware of the dealings.

Source: Live Mint

India is implementing the largest renewable energy program with plans to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022. The country has already installed a total of 75 GW of renewable energy capacity so far. As a result, India is witnessing a lot of activities around the RE sector with several major M&A deals struck in the last year.

Other major M&A deals in the country include:

i) Mahindra Susten is selling 160 MW of solar assets

ii) ReNew Power Ltd and NTPC Ltd have shown interest in the ongoing sale process of PTC India Ltd’s wind assets worth 290 MW of capacity

iii) Morgan Stanley exited from its wind energy platform Continuum Wind Energy

iv) Engie SA plans to sell a significant stake in its Indian solar business, where Global Infrastructure Partners is the potential buyer in a deal potentially worth around $500 million

v) India’s first RE focused infrastructure investment trust to be set up by the Piramal group and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)

vi) Renew Power also bought over 1 GW of renewable energy assets from Ostro Energy.

Also, read India has the Lowest Cost of Solar Power but Should We be Proud of this?

With a renewable energy-focused government at the center, we expect to continue hearing encouraging news around India’s power sector. The government aims to supply reliable and uninterrupted power to households in India.