ENGIE Sells 74% in Its Indian Solar Assets to Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus
The company added that the transaction would take place during the first half of 2020 and will help ENGIE reduce its net debt by over Euro 400 million (nearly Rs 31.49 billion).
French transnational power utility- ENGIE, has now announced that it is selling a 74 per cent stake in its solar assets in India to Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus (EIYP).
This transaction is a part of a strategic partnership between the two companies. The French power distribution company said it would sell 12 solar assets with a total operating capacity of 813 MW (DC) to EIYP and Sekura Energy Limited, a portfolio company of EIYP.
The company added that the transaction would take place during the first half of 2020 and will help ENGIE reduce its net debt by over Euro 400 million (nearly Rs 31.49 billion).
ENGIE executive vice-president, and chief operating officer (COO)- Paulo Almirante, said that this transaction allows the company to accelerate the implementation of its strategic model in renewable. This will also help the company to free up its capital and keep up investing in the very dynamic solar market of India.
ENGIE explained that its strategy in India, as well as many other countries, was to use its resources to design, finance, and build renewable energy production capacity. It would then partially dispose of its interest in the project and would only retain operation and maintenance responsibilities.
It added that this transaction marked the beginning of a partnership with EIYP that aims to expand a growing solar platform.
In 2018, ENGIE acquired a 90 per cent stake in Simpa Energy from its parent company Simpa Networks, a distributed energy solutions provider with the pay-as-you-go model. The company through its investment fund- the ENGIE Ressembleurs d’Energies, also supports community initiatives in India, the primary aim of which is to help the local population have access to clean energy.
According to some earlier reports, ENGIE’s total renewable capacity in India crossed 1.5 GW after Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited awarded a 280 MW solar project as part of the Raghanesda Solar Park in the state, which is currently under development.
According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, Engie has large-scale solar projects worth 569 MWAC in operation, and around 250 MWAC of solar projects are under the development pipeline.
