SunEdison to list Indian renewable assets on Nasdaq

To look for acquisition in hydro, solar and wind energy

US solar power major SunEdison will list its Indian assets on the Nasdaq. Of the $500 million it plans to raise through TerraForm Global, a subsidiary for renewable assets in non-OECD countries, Indian projects make up 20 per cent, or around 250 Mw.

The company also recently became the largest open access solar power provider to industries and commercial units in India. With an operational base of 250 Mw, it is selling 50 Mw through open access in eight states. It will also be using open access to supply 180 Mw to Tata Power Delhi Distribution.

“Our parent company SunEdison is a listed entity and now we have formed two vehicles to be listed, OECD and non-OECD assets. Indian assets worth 1.3 Gw have been identified, 250 Mw will be part of the listing and the remaining will be part of call rights given to the holding company,” said Pashupathy Gopalan, president and managing director, SunEdison Asia Pacific.

Besides India, the non-OECD vehicle includes assets in China, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. The company in its statement for an initial public offering in the NASDAQ said, “TerraForm Global plans to sell about 56.6 million shares for between $19 and $21 a share. SunEdison will hold all the Class-B shares in TerraForm."

SunEdison will develop Indian assets and take these to commercial operations.  “After achieving commissioning, we will transfer or sell the assets to our company, Yieldco. SunEdison in India currently has in operation solar projects totalling 600 Mw in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra,” said Gopalan.

“We are also developing a solar project of 180 Mw for the Delhi distribution company. Once that is done, we will have 1,000 Mw of operational solar assets by the end of the year. In wind, we have acquired Continuum Energy, which is a very strong platform. Between projects completed and under construction, we will have 400 Mw of operational wind assets by the year’s end. They have an additional 1,000 Mw of wind assets that we will build by 2016-17,” said Gopalan. In one of the largest deals in the renewable energy sector, estimated at $300 million, SunEdison acquired all the wind power projects of Mumbai-based Continuum Wind Energy, which consists of 42 Mw in Maharashtra and Gujarat, 170 Mw of projects under construction in Madhya Pradesh and around 1,000 Mw of plants being developed in six states.

Apart from Continuum, SunEdison also acquired wind assets of about 100 Mw from Spanish developer Fersa in Karnataka and Rajasthan. “We will develop, own and operate assets in wind, solar and even small hydro in the range of 15.2 Gw by 2022,” said Gopalan.

“Hydro is a new asset class for our corporation and we are seeing some assets but they are at very early stages of diligence. We have not consummated any transaction as talks are in the early stages,” he said.

It is also open to acquire more solar and wind projects. “We have more than 600 Mw of projects under construction. We continue to develop our foundation in India, both organically and inorganically,” said Gopalan.