The Hindu Business Line : AES-Riverstone venture may target solar projects in India

New Delhi, April 3 US power major AES Corp and private equity firm Riverstone Holdings LLC, which have firmed up plans to jointly invest up to $1 billion in photovoltaic solar projects around the world over the next five years, are keenly eyeing the Indian market.

AES and Riverstone have each committed up to $500 million for the joint venture, which will be called ‘AES Solar’. “We are watching developments in India and have the flexibility to move into the market if conditions warrant,” Mr Ralph Alexander, Managing Director of New York-based Riverstone told Business Line.

The venture is slated to initially focus on projects in countries with the most attractive tariffs, and the utility-scale installations are expected to range from fewer than 2 MW to more than 50 MW in size. In light of the proposed scale of funding, the joint venture between AES and Riverstone has the potential to change the fundamental economics of solar power projects, especially in emerging market economies such as India.

Mr Alexander, however, declined to divulge how much money would be earmarked for projects in India. “It is hard to give a number at this time (for India),” he said.

Photovoltaic solar installations essentially capture sunlight and convert it into electricity to feed to the power grid. In February, Arlington, Virginia-based AES said it wanted to spend $10 billion on renewable energy projects over the next five years.

India has been keen to take advantage of the favourable natural conditions for large-scale harnessing and deployment of solar energy, with both the Centre and a slew of States firming up investment plans to harness solar energy through viable projects. As a step in this direction, state-owned Power Finance Corporation Ltd had recently inked a pact with West Bengal Green Energy Development Corp Ltd (WBGEDCL) to set up the country’s first grid-connected solar power plant — a 2-MW photovoltaic plant set to come up at Dishergarh Power Station Complex near Asansol in Burdwan district of West Bengal.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set for itself a goal to add an additional 14,000-MW of grid-quality power through renewable resources by the end of Eleventh Five-Year Plan, including through solar installations. Private players, including Reliance Industries Ltd, are also said to be eyeing investment opportunities in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Moser Baer Photo Voltaic, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Moser Baer India, is also looking at demonstration projects to harness solar power from concentrated solar cells in West Bengal, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir, according to industry sources.

“Funding from PE players could enable a big jump in solar installations. In light of the capital intensive nature of solar projects, funding opportunities have been limited so far and private players have not been stepping into the sector. This could change if money is committed by private equity and venture capital funds,” a Government official involved in the exercise said.

More Stories on : Outlook | Non-conventional Energy

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