Green energy firms eye stock market listings, say sources

Two Indian renewable energy firms are set to unveil stock market listing plans in the coming weeks, giving investors a new way to gain exposure to the sector at a time when India is pushing to make renewable power a bigger part of its energy mix.

Adani Green Energy, a subsidiary of Indian trading firm Adani Enterprises Ltd, is expected to be spun out and listed on Indian stock exchanges within the next two weeks, said two bankers familiar with the company’s plans.

Separately, ReNew Power, India’s biggest company in terms of renewable energy assets, is expected to file papers with regulators for an initial public offering as early as next week, the two bankers said.

The two companies will be the first new pure-play renewable energy firms to list in India, since wind energy firm Orient Green Power’s listing eight years ago.

The sector has in recent years drawn significant interest from large global sovereign funds and private equity firms including Warbug Pincus, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Singapore’s GIC and Macquarie Capital.

The listings will help investors gauge market interest and set a bar on valuations for rivals that may also explore listings, say bankers.

Adding over 100 gigawatts of renewable capacity will require “significant capital and private markets alone can’t fund all of it,” said Alok Verma, Executive Director of Investment Banking at Kotak.

India will need over $125 billion to fund its plan to add 175 gigawatts of renewable power to its grid by 2022. The clean energy industry is looking beyond domestic banks, which account for most of the industry’s financing.

To put the financing requirement in context, researcher Mercom estimates corporate funding for the global solar industry was $12.8 billion last year.