IFC, ADB, DEG consortium to invest $275 mn in Fourth Partner Energy

IFC, ADB and DEG on Tuesday announced an investment of $ 275 million (about Rs 2,280 crore) into renewable energy solutions platform Fourth Partner Energy Ltd (FPEL).

The consortium's investment will infuse capital to fund FPEL's business expansion plans which include a target portfolio of 3.5 GW of renewable energy assets by 2026, a statement said.

FPEL has an installed base of 1.5 GW of green assets and is set to commission the first phase of its maiden 575 MW wind solar hybrid project under the ISTS (Inter State Transmission System) route, in Karnataka, later this quarter, it said.

World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) is leading the consortium with an investment of $ 125 million, while Asian Development Bank (ADB) is infusing $ 100 million and Germany's Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) is at $ 50 million to complete this round of fundraising, it said.

"We welcome IFC, ADB and DEG as new partners to join our existing high quality equity investor base...FPEL is now poised to transform the region's clean energy landscape and assist more businesses in reaching their RE100 goals in a just, equitable manner," the company's ED Vivek Subramanian said.

"Our investment will help FPEL to expand its renewable energy offerings and increase the supply of affordable, clean energy for commercial and industrial consumers across the country. Strategic investments in distributed generation through corporate PPAs are creating a new asset class, key to diversifying India's energy mix," IFC's regional director for South Asia Imad N Fakhoury said.

For ADB, investing into FPEL includes $ 70 million from our ordinary capital resources and $ 30 million from Leading Asia's Private Infrastructure Fund 2 (LEAP 2), administered by ADB, multilateral funding agency's Director General for Private Sector Operation Suzanne Gaboury said.

According to an estimate, India's renewables sector is expected to attract an annual investment of $ 25 billion through 2030.