Clover plans Rs 300 cr solar power foray

Emerging solar energy-provider Clover Solar will invest Rs 300 crore over the next two years to set up 25 MW of solar power plants pan-India, a top company official said.

The company will kick-off its plans by setting up a 2MW plant at Supa near Pune, which it hopes to get operational by March 2011 at an investment of Rs 35 crore, to be funded through a mix of debt and internal accruals, the company's Founder-Director Javed Tapia told PTI here today.

"We have entered into a MoU with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), a subsidiary of NTPC, under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) to set up a 2MW plant near Pune. A total of 16 companies have been selected under the mission and we are one of the two private companies from Maharashtra, the other being Videocon," Tapia said.

Over the next two-years, apart from setting up the 25 MW of projects, Clover Solar also intends to implement solar power projects for others.

"This will be another revenue-stream for us," he said.
    
The company is in talks with some private equity players and clean-tech funds to raise resources to fund its expansion and is eyeing around Rs 50 crore from them, he said.
    
"We could dilute around 25 per cent of equity but we will decide on this only by mid-next year," Tapia said.

Going forward, the company will set up five 5 MW projects and is eyeing tie-ups with captive power producers, especially in the metals and heavy industries segments.
    
"As per regulations, every captive power producer will have to buy at least 0.25 per cent of their power from solar. This opens up huge opportunities for us," he said.
    
The company is targeting a Rs 100 crore turnover over the next three-years, he said.