PTT Group backed Avaada Energy said it will raise INR 14.4 billion through green bonds; MNRE has asked states to consider setting up DRC for renewable energy projects; Adani subsidiary bags LOA for 150 MW solar project; SJVN’s 400 MW solar project in Himachal Pradesh gets in-principal approval from MNRE.
Avaada Energy to raise INR 14.4 billion: Solar energy project developer Avaada Energy will raise INR 14.4 billion ($192 million) through green bonds in the Indian capital market, at 6.75%. It claims this makes it India’s largest AAA rated green bond by any renewable energy developer to date. Certified by the Climate Bonds Standard Board of the Climate Bonds Initiatives and compliant with the SEBI guidelines for Green Debt Securities, the bonds will be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) with 3-year tenure. “The response to bond issuance in the domestic market is extremely encouraging. It will help developers to raise capital domestically and avoid exposure of foreign exchange currency risk and achieve a reduction in fundraising costs,” said Vineet Mittal, chair of Avaada that’s backed by Thailand’s oil and gas major, PTT Group.
MNRE wants DRC for states: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has requested state governments to set up respective Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) to deal with disputes between implementing agencies and renewable energy developers for projects directly bid out by them. It already has a DRC at the national level, comprising eminent persons, that deals with all requests for extension of time due to recognized force majeure events, all requests of time extension not covered by the contract and all disputes other than those related to time extension between the 2 parties. The DRC submits its recommendations to the ministry, which then submits the same with its final observations to the MNRE minister for final decision. It says so far, the ministry has been able to successfully decide upon 27 cases so far.
Adani received LOA for 150 MW solar: Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) subsidiary Adani Renewable Energy Holding Fifteen Limited has secured a letter of award (LOA) from Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) for 150 MW solar capacity. The ground mounted grid connected project was awarded to the subsidiary under a competitive auction process conducted by PSPCL for 250 MW solar power procurement. Adani won the project for INR 2.34 per kWh winning bid for 25 years. AGEL counts its total renewable energy project portfolio to have grown to over 20.43 GW AC, out of which 5.41 GW AC are operational, 11.59 GW AC under construction and for 3.43 GW AC it has received LOA and is yet to sign the PPA.
SJVN’s 400 MW solar park approved: SJVN Limited’s request to develop 400 MW solar park at Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh has been granted in-principal approval from the MNRE. The project will be developed under Mode-8 of the Solar Park Scheme by SJVN. According to the latter, this would support its plans to develop 5 GW renewable energy generation capacity by 2023, and scale it up to 25 GW by 2030 and to 50 GW by 2040.
