Real estate developer Embassy Group is diversifying into renewable energy business and will soon start work on a 200-mw solar power plant in Karnataka.The plant will require a total investment of Rs 1,400 crore and will be executed by the newlyfloated subsidiary, Embassy Energy, the Bengaluru-based company said on Wednesday.”The approval system is very quick for renewable energy. We are in the process of applying to the ministry of renewable energy for approvals and do not foresee any major challenges,” said Anshul Singhal, CEO of Embassy Energy.
The plant will come up in two phases of 100 mw each and is expected to be ready by 2017. The solar project will be built on the open access module and will be funded by 70% debt and 30% equity. “To begin with, the power plant will supply the power to Embassy Group’s parks in Bengaluru that consumes around 3,000 million units annually. We are trying to make business more sustainable in terms of power cost,” he said.Embassy plans to further scale its power business and build 1000 mw of renewable energy projects across the country over the next five years.
“Once the 200-mw (project) is operational, the company will become an IPP (independent power producer). We will then look at doing bigger solar and wind power plants,” said Singhal. Embassy is also planning to set up a plant in Pune.According to the Central Electricity Authority, the country’s total installed capacity for renewable energy was 36.47 gw at the end of the quarter to June 2015.
Source:ET
