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India’s Hindustan Powerprojects eyes IPO in H2 2016 – report
Indian firm Hindustan Powerprojects Pvt, which has about 500 MW of solar capacity, may go public in the second half of 2016, business daily Mint said in a recent article, citing a company spokesman.
The power company, previously known as Moser Baer Projects Pvt, is engaged in the development of coal and hydropower plants in addition to solar. Back in 2014, Hindustan Powerprojects said it was planning an initial public offering (IPO) for its solar energy subsidiary, but the strategy has now changed.
An IPO for the holding company will come first, while the solar and thermal power units will list later, the spokesman told Mint. Nothing is definite yet, but the IPO is anticipated between July and December 2016, according to the report.
Hindustan Powerprojects says on its website it has 500 MW of solar power generation capacity and aims to commission 2 GW by 2017. Overall, it has “a vision of commissioning” 7 GW by 2020 in thermal, solar and hydro. US private equity major The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE:BX) invested USD 300 million (EUR 275m) in the company in August 2010 and holds a stake of over 30% in it.
Indian Railways plans 1 GW of solar, 132 MW of wind parks
State-owned transportation firm Indian Railways plans to source 1 GW of solar power and build 132 MW of wind farms over the next five years.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu said this, during a dedication ceremony for a 26-MW wind park at Kodiyasar village, Fatehgarh in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan state. The particular plant was built by Railway Energy Management Company Ltd (REMCL), a joint venture between Indian Railways and RITES Ltd.
The new wind farm will be able to generate more than 50 million kWh of electricity per year, which will be used to power three traction substations, according to a press statement.
Prabhu mentioned that Indian Railways intends to use rooftops and vacant land for solar power generation and to construct further wind farms. In addition, it plans to deploy solar-based water heating systems, solar coolers and solar street lights at various locations.
India sets aside USD 753m for rooftop solar subsidies to 2020
India’s budget for subsidizing grid-connected rooftop solar systems over the next five years has been increased to INR 50 billion (USD 753m/EUR 689m) from INR 6 billion previously by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
That amount will support 4.2 GW of rooftop solar installations under the National Solar Mission (NSM) up to fiscal year 2019/20, says a press release by the government.
A capital subsidy of 30% is provided for general category states, while special category states can take up to 70%. The special category states list includes disadvantaged states in the north-east.
The subsidies under the budget will be available for residential projects and for rooftop installations on government, social and institutional buildings. Commercial and industrial projects in the private sector are not eligible for these subsidies, but they can take advantage of other incentives such as accelerated depreciation and excise duty exemptions, among others.
The increase in budget comes to support India’s goal of having 40 GWp of rooftop solar capacity in 2022.
India’s ReNew Power preps for asset purchases – report
Roughly 3 GW, or 10%, of India’s installed renewable energy capacity may be up for sale currently and local firm ReNew Power Ventures plans to take advantage of the situation, its head told Mint.
The renewable power producer, which counts US investment bank Goldman Sachs as one of its backers, is keen on acquiring both wind and solar power facilities that meet its return on investment requirements, founder and CEO Sumant Sinha said, as cited by the newspaper.
The current goal of ReNew Power is to achieve a total installed capacity of 1 GW in the next three months, including up to 80% wind. Over the next five years it is to surpass 11 GW of combined wind and solar capacity, according to the report.
The CEO noted that the company has put on hold its plan for an initial public offering (IPO) because it has enough resources at this point. ReNew Power has raised a total of USD 650 million (EUR 592m) through three financing rounds since 2011. This includes the USD-265-million obtained in late October 2015.
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