Hyderabad-based Suryachakra Power Corporation Limited (SPCL) has concluded an agreement with Climate Change Investment II for a Rs-50 crore equity investment in its wholly-owned subsidiary Lahari Power and Steels Limited (LPSL).
Following this, Suryachakra will have a 73.9 per cent stake in LPSL and Climate Change will hold the remaining 26.1 per cent shareholding. Climate Change is a Luxembourg-based fund managed by First Climate Group, an European carbon asset management company.
On Tuesday, Suryachakra’s board decided to bring its entire renewable energy project portfolio under LPSL. In order to achieve the purpose, Suryachakra and its associates would transfer the equity shares held in MSM Energy Limited, South Asian Agro Industries Limited and Sri Panchajanya Power Private Limited to LPSL. Suryachakra’s renewable energy vertical is engaged in developing biomass, solar, wind and hydro power projects.
This is part of the proposed financing of Rs 450 crore planned to be raised by Suryachakra over the next 12 months. “We have been building up our credentials in delivering renewable energy projects over the last few years and this investment by a third party foreign investor is a validation of our capabilities,” SPCL managing director, SM Manepalli, stated in a press release.
Suryachakra currently has 20 Mw of operational capacity from biomass energy with an additional 30 Mw to come on line by early 2010. Besides, biomass plants with a capacity of 140 Mw, concentrated solar power of 175 Mw hydro projects of 275 Mw and 50 Mw of wind power projects are under development.
Manepalli stated that First Climate and Suryachakra were also in discussions with Indian and foreign banks to secure debt financing backed by Emission Reduction Purchase Agreements (ERPAS) and were expecting to raise up to Rs 100 crore from future carbon revenues. “This is part of First Climate's approach to combine carbon finance with traditional project financing structures to increase capital available for the projects,” he said.
