Inox Wind Infrastructure Services Ltd., one of the four winners of the first wind power auction held in October, is already looking to sell a stake in the 250 MW project it was awarded, people familiar with the development said. Several buyers have shown interest, with ReNew Power, which lost out in the auction, close to clinching a deal. Neither ReNew Power nor Inox Wind was willing to comment on the matter. Inox won the bid quoting a tariff of Rs 3.46 per unit, lower than the prevailing wind tariff, which varies between Rs 4 and Rs 6 across wind producing states that is fixed by each state’s power regulator. Mytrah Energy (India), Green Infra Wind Energy and Ostro Kutch Wind also won 250 MW each, with an identical tariff. Re-New Power had bid at Rs 3.47 per unit.
Although the auction was formally notified last October, the bids were opened only late in February. Since then, Inox Wind’s parent company Inox Renewables is said have decided to move out of developing wind farms and concentrate on its core business of manufacturing wind power generating equipment. In early March, Inox Renewables sold its entire portfolio of wind farms of about 260 MW to Chennai-based Leap Green Energy Pvt. for an undisclosed sum. The auction regulations debar winners from selling a majority stake in their projects for at least one year after the wind farm is commissioned. Inox Wind plans to initially part with a 49% stake to form a special purpose vehicle with the buyer and sell the remaining 51% after the project is operational.
The terms will be framed to ensure Inox Wind supplies the tower, blades and turbines and sets up the project and does not have the responsibility of running it beyond a year. “Inox will not get any premium since the project is still at a very early stage,” said an industry official aware of the planned deal. “Even the letters of intent have yet to be issued to the auction winners. But that does not matter, since its only concern as far as the wind business now is to sell its turbines.” Inox Renewables is owned by Gujarat Fluorochemicals, which also has interests in cinema theatres and industrial gases.
Source:EETIE
