The Hindu Business Line : XL Telecom secures Rs 150-cr overseas order for solar panels

Hyderabad, March 24 XL Telecom and Energy Ltd, the Hyderabad-based solar panel and solar cell maker, has bagged a Rs 153.9-crore order from the European Union, to be delivered by 2009.

With this, the company order book for the supply of solar panels now stands at Rs 675 crore.

The company, which had earlier announced its move to set up solar farms with 28-MW capacity in Spain to cash in on the concessions offered there, is in parleys with private equity players to place 25 per cent in the overseas venture being addressed through a subsidiary.

“We are in talks with several private equity players to offload stake for the Rs 1,000-crore project. The company expects to conclude the deal before April-end,” Mr Vasudeva Rao, Executive Director of XL Telecom, told Business Line.

Mr Rao said that the company expects to achieve financial closure for the Rs 1,000-crore project by June 2008 and complete the execution of these farms by June 2009.

Refusing to disclose the country and the company from where XL Telecom bagged the deal, citing non-disclosure arrangement and competitive reasons, Mr Rao said “If we do so, more companies may line up.”

The company recently concluded a foreign currency convertible bond issue and raised $40 million to part-fund the 120-MW solar cell manufacturing plant along with expansion of module making capacity by another 40 MW. This fully-automated plant is coming up in the special economic zone with a total capital expenditure of $75 million.

Mr Rao said that the company has been investing in the company’s manufacturing capacity to meet the demand from Europe and the US by focussing on grid connected solar solutions.

These solar farms are growing at a rapid pace compared to stand alone solar power systems, offering immense scope for expansion.

Asked about the time-line for the execution of these orders, Mr Rao said “Solar panel order does not require much time to execute and even implementation of solar farms can be achieved at a rapid pace. For instance, once we conclude the financial closure for the project in Spain, we expect to implement the project within 12 months.”

More Stories on : New Business | Non-conventional Energy

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page