Wind World evaluates sale of 202.4 megawatt wind power projects
The consolidation in the Indian clean energy space continues with Wind World (India) Ltd, exploring the sale of 202.4 megawatt (MW) wind power projects. The company, formerly Enercon (India) Ltd, has appointed IDFC Ltd to carry out the sale mandate for these projects spread across Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. “They have been looking for an investor,” said a person requesting anonymity. According to information available on WWIL’s website, the company also manufactures wind power generation equipment, sets up projects and also maintains them. The firm has installed over 6,204 wind energy converters with a capacity of over 4,561MW.
The projects on sale include 50.4MW each wind projects in Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), Sipla (Rajasthan) and Vagaikulam (Tamil Nadu). There is also a 51.2MW project at Samana (Gujarat). The sale process has been in the works for some time now with the tariffs across projects ranging from Rs.3.50 per unit to Rs.4.46 per unit. Queries emailed to the spokespersons of IDFC and WWIL on 30 September remained unanswered. Of India’s installed power generation capacity of 305,554MW, renewable sources contribute 14% or 44,237MW. The Indian renewable energy deal space has been active with Hindustan Zinc Ltd exploring sale of its wind power assets and and Greenko Energy Holdings acquiring SunEdison Inc. Also, Azure Power plans to sell stakes in its operational projects and Partners Group AG is looking to acquire stake in Continuum Energy.
Experts believe that there is a gradual move towards consolidation in India’s renewable energy sector. “India has been moving progressively towards cleaner sources of energy. Wind and solar power have been successfully implemented and continue to be an alternative for thermal sources. The multiple advantages linked with renewable sources are giving them an upper hand over its competition. The government’s push is acting as a catalyst as well,” said Vinay Rustagi, managing director at Bridge to India, a renewable energy consultancy. The National Democratic Alliance government has set a target to generate 175 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy by 2022. Of this, 100GW is expected to be in the solar power domain with 60GW coming from wind power projects. Currently, India has an installed capacity of 26.8GW of wind and 7.6GW of solar power.
While global energy investments have fallen, renewable energy investments of $313 billion accounted for the largest source of power sector investment, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA last month said global energy investments fell by 8% to $1.8 trillion in 2015.
The Indian government expects to reduce emissions in line with the country’s commitment towards reducing carbon footprints. India also ratified the Paris climate change deal on 2 October.
