Tata Power Renewable Energy to invest in wind energy firms

The Economic Times , Thursday, November 20, 2014
Correspondent : Shuchi Srivastava
MUMBAI: The Tata group's renewable energy arm is in talks to invest in a wind energy firm, revving up deal activity in a sector that has lured General Electric, Goldman Sachs and the Asian Development Bank, as the company seeks to achieve its goal of adding as much as 300 MW to its portfolio annually.

"We are currently speaking to three wind power companies based in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra...We hope to close a deal soon as we have a target of adding 200-300 MW of green energy projects into our portfolio this year, which can be done both organically and inorganically," said Rahul Shah, Chief Executive Officer of Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL).

"All these companies that we are speaking to own operating projects that have very competitive tariffs." Shah didn't say how much the company would spend on the acquisition or who owns the target companies. TPREL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power, was incorporated in 2007 to house the company's renewable energy assets. India's renewable energy sector has drawn investors, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said clean energy will play a key role in the government's goal of providing electricity to all 400 million Indian homes that are currently without power.

In April, GE Energy Financial Services invested $24 million in a 151 MW solar photovoltaic power project put up by Welspun Renewables in Madhya Pradesh. In July, Goldman Sachs, ADB and the South Asia Clean Energy Fund pumped in $140 million into wind and solar energy firm ReNew Power, promoted by former Suzlon Energy CEO Sumant Sinha. India's national action plan on climate change recommends that the country generate 10% of its power from solar, wind, hydropower and other renewable sources by 2015 and 15% by 2020. India had an installed power generation capacity of 254,049 MW at the end of September, of which 31,692 MW, or about 12%, is from renewable sources, according to data on the Central Electricity Authority website.

Tata Power had earlier told ET that all the new capacity it plans to add over the next two years -- almost 800 MW - would comprise of projects in the wind, hydro, solar and wastegas space. The company has an installed generation capacity of 8,615 MW, of which more than 1,200 MW is from renewable sources. On whether renewable energy can compete with thermal power in India, Shah said, "The cost of operating a thermal power plant will escalate, unlike a renewable project where the costs are static for, say, the next 25 years. Also, unlike before, now the costs of setting up renewable energy plants have rationalised and tariffs are almost at grid parity."

TPREL is currently developing two wind projects in Maharashtra, a 126 MW hydro project in Bhutan in a venture with the Government of Bhutan that is close to being commissioned, 185 MW of hydro power projects in Georgia and wind projects in South Africa.

 
SOURCE : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/tata-power-renewable-energy-to-invest-in-wind-energy-firms/articleshow/45211296.cms?prtpage=1
 


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