NEW DELHI: Acme Solar, which had bid aggressively to push solar tariffs in India to record lows, is considering putting 650 megawatts of capacity on the block, as it weighs various options for the future, multiple people aware of development said.
Acme has won the contract for developing 200 MW at the Bhadla solar project with a historic low tariff of `2.44/unit till now in India, the company said in a recent statement issued on completion of the said project.
Recently, the Solar Energy Corporation of India, which is implementing the National Solar Mission, partially cancelled bids received for 2,400 MW capacity in a 3,000 MW tender, citing high tariffs quoted by developers including ReNew Power and Soft-Bank-led SB Energy. Only bids received by Acme Solar were retained as the company quoted a tariff of `2.44 per unit.
“The money that they raise by selling these 650 MW capacity of solar projects will help the company fund projects in their pipeline,” a person directly aware of developments told ET on the condition of anonymity. Acme CEO Nikhil Dhingra, however, said the company was facing no difficulty in raising money for its projects and did not need to sell any project to meet its funding requirement.
“For next year, we only need to execute 400 MW of assets and our cash flow generation is around 550 crore annually which is more than enough to do 700 MW of assets annually given capital expenditure required has reduced substantially. Also, our sponsor company is committed to fully fund the projects equity gap whenever there is a requirement although there doesn’t seem to be a requirement in near future,” Dhingra said.
Acme is planning to raise around `3,000 crore through an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) as it needs funds to set up over 2,500 MW capacity in a little over two years, industry executives said.
Dhingra said: “Invit is our preferred mode of fund raising and we are keen and focussed on that option and are taking steps towards that with concerned stakeholders.”
Acme has solar capacity of 5.5 GW (DC capacity), of which 2.4 GW is operational.
Solar power tariffs have become a major point of contention in India’s solar industry. Most developers claim that the current cap set by the government at `2.5 per unit will make solar projects unviable.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes
