NIIF to manage $2-bn green energy fund

NIIF will put in $490 million in the corpus, said govt officials

The Centre has decided the National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) will manage a $2-billion fund for renewable energy. The NIIF would contribute $490 million to its corpus, an official said.

“The Indian Renewable Energy Development Authority will add $110 million to the corpus and $1 billion will be sourced from sovereign funds and through financing instruments. The fund is expected to be ready in three months,” the official told Business Standard.

Piyush Goyal, minister of state for coal, power, renewable energy and mines, had announced last year the government would set up $1 billion private equity fund for renewable energy projects. He said public sector companies would pool in for the corpus.

“The corpus has been doubled now, and apart from government sponsored projects, anyone can apply,” said Upendra Tripathy, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy.

The renewable energy fund was envisaged during the climate change discussions in Paris in 2015 and it was then decided that it would be managed by a global investment manager.

The fund is both for old projects looking for re-finance and new projects. With it being an equity fund, consolidation was likely in the sector with solar projects awarded under the first phase of the National Solar Mission in 2010-2012 likely to see a change of ownership, experts said. Most small wind power players that have put their projects on sale will also benefit from this fund.