ADB, DEG join $144m round for India solar player
Indian renewable energy developer Avaada Energy has raised a INR10 billion ($144 million) investment from a consortium including the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and development institutions DEG and FMO.
Vineet Mittal, Avaada’s founder, also participated in the investment, according to media reports linked from Avaada’s Twitter account. The company will use the new capital to support a 2.4 gigawatt Indian solar energy portfolio that is currently under construction. It plans to have a 5 GW portfolio across Asia and Africa by 2020, encompassing rooftop, utility-scale, and off-grid solar generation.
Mittal’s connections with ADB and DEG go back to Welspun Renewables, the renewable energy division of Mittal’s previous venture Welspun Energy that built a portfolio of 1.1 GW before being acquired by Tata Power in 2016. ADB and DEG invested in Welspun in 2014 and made full exits in the Tata sale.
India’s renewable energy sector has been an active target for investors in recent years, spurred by aggressive support by the government focused on achieving independence from foreign energy sources and improving environmental quality. As of October 2018, the country had 73.4 GW of installed renewable power capacity (excluding large hydro projects), ranking fifth in the world according to government-backed think tank India Brand Equity Foundation.
PE-backed renewable energy developers include Ayana Renewable Power, a platform backed by CDC Group, and Greenko Energy, which is owned by GIC Private. Supporting industries have also attracted investor attention, with Warburg Pincus committing $100 million to CleanMax Solar to support its expansion into energy storage, as well as entry into the Middle East.
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