UK Climate Investments has formed a partnership with Lightsource Renewable Energy to fund the development, acquisition and ownership of large scale solar power plants in India.
The partnership is expected to directly target development and acquisition of operational utility scale solar assets in India with an aim to seed a platform.
This platform is aimed at creating high quality de-risked investment opportunities in the country which is considered to be one of the fastest growing solar markets in the world. This platform is claimed to mobilize large scale deployment of institutional capital through Lightsource.
Lightsource CEO Nick Boyle said: “The UK Climate Investments partnership, and our first Indian project reaching financial close, are significant milestones in the growth of Lightsource. This project is a testament to the strength of the team we have in India, supported by a global project finance and operational capability, that have made this project a success.
“UK Climate Investments are a fantastic partner for us to seed the foundations of a large solar and smart energy investment and operating platform in India.”
As per Lightsource, the seed asset for the partnership will be its 60MW solar project in the Indian state of Maharashtra. This project is expected to reach financial close simultaneously with this partnership.
The tender for the solar project was won by Lightsource last year from the Solar Energy Corporation India (SECI). The project will include more than 200,000 solar panels that will be laid on 240 acres of land. When completed, the project will generate enough energy to power 20,000 homes.
UK Climate Investments will offer 49% of the equity to construct the first project. It will also provide £30m for the project and for a broader partnership with Lightsource to develop and construct up to 300MW solar projects. These projects are expected to be supported by third party funding and commercial project finance debt.
Macquarie Infrastructure and Real assets global head Martin Stanley said: “This first investment for UK Climate Investments will provide the necessary sponsor support for the first project in a very promising series of potential solar investments in India, in line with UKCI’s investment mandate.
“Working with the UK’s leading solar developer, we will look to stimulate a positive transformational impact by bringing industry-leading best practices of risk mitigation and management to the local market.”
Image: Green Investment Group and Lightsource to develop and acquire solar projects in India. Photo: Courtesy of Green Investment Group.