Actis renewables platform to buy India solar asset

The deal will see Ostro invest an initial INR490 million ($7.3 million) for a 49% stake in Prathamesh Solarfarms, a vehicle set up by Suzlon to develop a 50 megawatt project in Telangana. According to a filing, Ostro will have the option to acquire the company in full within one year subject to regulatory approval.

Suzlon won approval this year for 210 MW of power projects in Telangana, including Prathamesh - four for 15 MW each and one for 100 MW. Its partners on the 15 MW projects include Canadian Solar and China-based Unisun Energy. CLP India, a unit of Hong Kong-listed CLP Holdings, is supporting the 100 MW plant.

The Prathamesh project is expected to be commissioned within the current financial year. Suzlon will be responsible for construction and will also provide operation and maintenance services for 25 years. The India-based company is best known for constructing wind energy projects worldwide, with about 15.5 GW of total generating capacity across six continents - mostly in India, where it represents around 36% of the country's wind installations.

This represents Ostro's first investment in solar power. Actis created the platform last year with a $230 million investment, along with its first project, a 50 MW wind power facility in Rajasthan. Ostro is Actis' fifth energy platform and its first in India. The previous four were based in Latin America.

"With the government's thrust on renewables and the target to build 100 GW of solar energy projects by 2022, this is the right time for us to foray into solar energy," said Ostro CEO Ranjit Gupta. "This is aligned to our vision to be a 1,000 MW renewable energy company in India by 2018."

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Infrastructure
• Cleantech
• Buyouts
• India
• energy
• Actis Capital