CLP India buys 49% stake in Suzlon's 100 MW solar project

Mumbai: CLP India Pvt. Ltd, one of the largest foreign investors in India’s power sector, on Monday said it has bought a 49% stake in SE Solar, a solar power unit of wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy Ltd, for Rs.73.5 crore. The special purpose vehicle (SPV) of Suzlon Energy is building a 100 megawatts (MW) solar energy plant at Veltoor in Telangana.

Mint reported on 30 May that CLP India is talking to Suzlon Energy for buying an initial stake of up to 49% in a 100 MW project that the latter won at a tariff of Rs.5.59 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in Telangana in August 2015. The deal with Suzlon marks CLP India’s foray in the fast-growing solar energy sector.

As the second part of the transaction, CLP will have the option to acquire the remaining 51% stake in SE Power after a year from the commercial operations date, as allowed under the power purchase agreement (PPA), said CLP and Suzlon in a joint statement on Monday.

The project is expected to be commissioned by May 2017 with 80% of debt and 20% equity, the statement said. The net worth of SE Solar as on 31 March is Rs.30 crore, the statement said.

The 100 MW plant is part of a 210 MW project for which Suzlon received letters of interest (LoI) in January and has signed long-term PPAs with state utilities. Suzlon will still build the project on engineering, construction and procurement (EPC) basis and hold 51% for a year after the commercial operation date, as mandated by the PPA.

CLP India is one of the largest wind power developers in the country with a capacity of about 1,000 MW spread across six states and is the latest to announce its entry in the fast-growing solar energy market, which in recent months has seen overseas power firms, including Finnish utility Fortum Oyj, make large investment commitments.

The local unit of Hong Kong-listed CLP Holdings Ltd is planning to invest about $1 billion for setting up over 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar power capacity over the next 3-5 years. India aims to set up 100 GW of solar capacity and 60 GW of wind capacity by 2022.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.