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Radiance Renewables has acquired 152.5 mw rooftop solar assets from Azure Power Global for Rs 536.5 crore. Radiance is subsidiary of a green growth equity fund managed by Everstone Group firm EverSource Capital.
The transaction is through the green growth equity fund, an equal joint venture between Singapore-based private equity firm Everstone Group and British solar green energy major Lightsource, the group said on Monday. The transaction covers 152.5 mw of solar assets, including 8.1 mw of under-construction and 18.5 mw of recently commissioned assets.
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Radiance manages an operational capacity of 95 mw across 13 sites. It has close to 40 mw of projects under construction and another 60 mw under development. Azure Power, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, is an independent solar power producer with a pan-India portfolio of 6.9 gw as of February-end, of which 2 gw are operational, 0.9 gw under-construction and have letters of award for 4 gw, but with no power purchase agreements (PPAs).
Azure developed the country’s first private utility-scale solar project in 2009 and has been at the forefront in the sector as a developer and operator of solar projects since its inception in 2008. The statement said this is one of the largest acquisitions of rooftop solar assets in the country as Radiance is one of the largest solar rooftop players.
Through this acquisition, Radiance will service high-quality customers like the Railways, Delhi Metro, Delhi Jal Board, among others, where 99 per cent of power purchase agreements (PPAs) are for 25 years, it said. The deal will make the firm a significant player in the commercial, industrial and institutional segments with exposure to long-term PPAs with quality customers based on net-metering in the build-out of its distributed generation platform, it noted.
This transaction also allows the company to bring its high-quality asset management skills to improve asset performance given its focus on enhancing and delivering value to its stakeholders, Manikkan Sangameswaran, an executive director at Radiance, said. EverSource Capital chief executive Dhanpal Jhaveri said this transaction reinforces their commitment to creating a clean and sustainable energy ecosystem.
Azure Power chief executive Ranjit Gupta said this is the first-ever sale by the company and this divestment allows them to enhance returns on invested capital through efficiency gains and cost optimisation. Radiance, which has a target of adding 1.5 gw of solar power under open access and behind the meter portfolio, is one of the leading providers of competitive renewable energy solutions for commercial, industrial and residential customers enabling them to achieve their sustainability goals.
Radiance is a 100 per cent subsidiary of the green growth equity fund, which is the leading climate fund in the country, managed by EverSource Capital, with investments from the National Investment & Infrastructure Fund and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the British government. EverSource is a 50:50 joint venture between the multiasset investment firm Everstone Capital, which is, in turn, is an arm of Everstone Group and British company Lightsource bp that is into renewables with a global portfolio of over 21 gw under development, construction and operation.
