Equis Energy – CleanTechies

French Energy Major Engie joins Buyout Queue For Equis Energy India Assets

written by saurabh

Indian media outlets have reported new development on the market buzz that Equis Energy, a renewable energy IPP in India, is looking to sell its assets.

Business daily Mint has reported that French utility Engie may be looking to acquire the Indian assets from Equis Energy. Equis Energy operates its India assets through two companies – Energon and Energon Soleq. Energon has operational assets of 414 megawatts while Energon Soleq has operational and under-construction assets of 560 megawatts. Equis Energy recently entered a new agreement with the government of Haryana which will enable the company’s expansion into markets other than utility-scale solar market.

Equis … signed an agreement with the government of Haryana to set up canal-top solar power projects. Under the agreement, Equis would invest $150 million to develop an undisclosed number or capacity of canal-top solar power projects.

In June, another company – Hero Future Energies – was reported to be in talks with Equis Energy to acquire these assets. No new development has been reported in this regard since.

Engie, through its subsidiary Solairedirect, is a major participant in the rapidly growing India solar power market. So acquisition of Energon Soleq could prove to be a logical expansion of Solairedirect’s portfolio as the latter missed out on several power projects in competitive auctions.

Solairedirect has grand plans in India.

Chief executive officer at Engie Isabelle Kocher recently stated that the company is looking to secure at 400 megawatts solar power capacity every year with a planned investment of $1 billion over the next five years in India.

Solairedirect has been very competitive in reverse auctions across India.

In January 2016, the company nearly tied for the lowest solar power tariff in India at that time. The company secured rights to develop 140 megawatts at the Bhadla solar power park in the state of Rajasthan; it placed a winning bid of Rs 4.35/kWh (6.7¢/kWh).

Solairedirect won rights to develop a 250-megawatt solar power project in the Kadapa solar power park being developed in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The company placed a winning bid of Rs 3.15/kWh (4.8¢/kWh), 4.5% lower than the previous record of Rs 3.30/kWh (5.1¢/kWh) levelized tariff set in February 2017.

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July 24, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Equis Energy Looking To Exit Indian Renewable Energy Market

written by saurabh

The largest independent renewable energy project developer Equis Energy maybe looking to exit one of the fastest growing renewable energy markets in the world.

According to media reports, Equis Energy is looking to sell around 700 megawatts of solar and wind energy capacity it owns in India. Indian business daily Economic Times reports that the Hero Future Energies, part of conglomerate Hero Group, is planning to buyout Equis’ assets.

According to a recent press release issued by Equis Energy, the company has financed 674 megawatts capacity with an additional 300 megawatt capacity under development. The company, through two subsidiaries, commissioned 130 megawatt solar power capacity in the state of Telangana. The company is expected to commission more utility-scale solar power projects over the next few months.

The two projects are expected to generate over 211,000 MWh of electricity every year offsetting more than 195,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in the process. The company is expected to generate around $18 million in revenue every year from these two projects.

A statement issued by Equis Board Chairman David Russell did not give any indication about the possibility of company’s exit from the Indian market. “Equis has nearly a gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy in operation and under development in India and we are excited about the prospects for continued growth, delivering low-cost, clean energy to Indian consumers and businesses, as well as offering jobs to the community,” Russell said. The statement seemed pretty generic and has been repeated used in several India-related press releases.

However, the company has been making business moves in new markets within India. Earlier this month, Equis also signed an agreement with the government of Haryana to set up canal-top solar power projects. Under the agreement, Equis would invest $150 million to develop an undisclosed number or capacity of canal-top solar power projects.

June 22, 2017 0 comment