ACME ties up Rs 5,600 cr loan for green energy project in Andhra Pradesh – EQ
In Short : ACME has secured a ₹5,600 crore loan for a green energy project in Andhra Pradesh. The funding will support the development of renewable energy infrastructure, contributing to India’s clean energy goals and regional economic growth.
In Detail : New Delhi : ACME Cleantech has arranged a Rs 5,600-crore loan from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to build a round-the-clock nationwide renewable energy supply project that will be located in Andhra Pradesh, people familiar with the matter told ET.
The tenor of the loan could be 17 years, they said.
It won the project under a tender process that was conducted by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in April last year, in which the government agency had floated a tender for development of 1.2 gigawatt of hybrid renewable energy projects with a combination of wind and solar power generation backed by battery storage.
The projects will have the ability to supply power nationwide during peak hours without disruptions.
ACME, ReNew Power, Hero Future Energies and Amp Energy won parts of the tender.
ACME Group and PFC had not responded to ET’s queries until press time.
ACME has been awarded 380 megawatts of projects. ReNew Power got the highest award with a nod to construct 600 megawatts or half the total capacity on offer through the tender.
The remainder of the tender is split between the two other players.
As part of the project, it is compulsory to install an energy storage system with a minimum capacity of 100 megawatt hour for every 100 megawatt of project capacity.
As per the agreement the developer must supply energy corresponding to a maximum of 4,000 kilowatt hours per megawatt of the contracted capacity daily during the cumulative number of peak hours as per the schedule provided by the buying entity.
While the power purchase agreement for sale of the power by ACME will be signed with SECI, the agency could enter back-to-back agreements with other off takers such as state-owned power distribution companies.
The projects have to be connected to the inter-state transmission system through which the power will be evacuated from the production site.
Gurugram-based ACME Group, founded by Manoj Upadhyay, has a large portfolio of solar power projects with almost 10 gigawatts of such projects under construction as per its website.
The website also states that the company has 1.5 gigawatts of operational solar power projects.
