ENGIE to reduce share in renewable projects, sell 74% stake to Edelweiss

French energy major ENGIE will sell majority stake in solar power projects in India to Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus (EIYP) and its portfolio company Sekura Energy. The company, which operates 1,500 megawatts (MW) of renewable capacity in India will sell 74 per cent stake in 12 solar power projects totaling 813 MW, it said in a statement.

The deal, expected to be closed by the first half of 2020, is estimated to help ENGIE reduce its debt by Euro 400 million. “This transaction allows us to accelerate the implementation of our strategic model in renewable, and to free up capital to keep up investing in the very dynamic Indian solar market,” said Paulo Almirante, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, ENGIE.

The energy major further said that the transaction is part of the company’s Develop Build Share Operate (DBSO) strategy. “In India, as in many other countries, ENGIE uses all its engineering capabilities to design, finance and build renewable energy production capacity. Once this capacity is built, ENGIE partially disposes of its interest and retains the operation and maintenance of the asset,” it said.

However, ENGIE will continue to remain in charge of the development, construction and operation of present and future solar plants. Subahoo Chordia, Head of EIYP said, “EIYP will benefit from access to a strong future pipeline of quality solar assets to be developed and constructed by ENGIE under the terms of the agreement. This will also grow EIYP’s Sekura Energy platform and make us a large investor in Indian energy space.”

ENGIE is currently operating wind power projects in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and solar power projects in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.