ACME Solar secures ₹4,725 crore funding for renewable energy projects

ACME Solar Holdings on Thursday said it has secured ₹4,725 crore financing from leading Indian financial institutions to fund renewable energy projects and optimise its capital structure by reducing financing costs.

The capital raise includes financing and refinancing arrangements with tenors ranging from 18 to 20 years for the projects, a company statement said.

According to the statement, the ACME Solar Holdings Ltd (ACME Solar), through its subsidiaries, has secured debt tie-up of ₹4,725 crore from leading Indian financial institutions to fund the renewable energy projects and optimise its capital structure by reducing financing costs.

Under the New Greenfield Financings, the company has got ₹2,716 crore from Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC Ltd) for the 300 MW ACME Sigma FDRE project, a renewable energy initiative equipped with four hours of battery storage.

It has also got its first greenfield project financing for Acme from National Bank for Financing Infrastructure Development (NaBFID) of ₹800 crore for the 150 MW ACME Platinum Solar + ESS project (with two hours of battery storage with 50 per cent availability).

Both these projects have connectivity in place and are in advanced stages of construction.

Under refinancing, it has secured ₹1,209 crore from Yes Bank for the operational 300 MW ACME Sikar Solar project, enabling a reduction in the cost of debt by 170 basis points (bps) initially and by 195 bps eventually.

This is the first long-term refinancing from Yes Bank for ACME Solar.

With this round of financing, the company has secured ₹10,590 crore of greenfield financing in the current financial year, taking total debt tie-ups to more than 90 per cent of PPA (power purchase agreement) signed under construction projects.

Further, it has refinanced ₹3,380 crore of debt, achieving a 135 bps reduction in interest cost on the refinanced portion, along with an additional rate reduction of around 60 bps on ₹4,035 crore of debt for other projects.

This includes two operational projects that have moved to a fixed-rate regime with the existing lender.

This initiative is consistent with the company's long-term funding strategy to maintain a well-diversified and strategic mix of fixed and floating rate borrowings.

ACME Solar has also expanded its non-fund based limits with various banks this year, including ICICI Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, EXIM Bank etc.

These limits assist in reducing the cost of debt through trade finance during the construction stage of the project.

ACME Solar Holdings Ltd is a leading integrated renewable energy player with a diversified portfolio spanning solar, wind, storage, FDRE and hybrid solutions.