Corporate funding in global solar up 54% to $18.5 bn in Jan-Jun: Report

Corporate funding in the global solar sector increased 54 per cent year-on-year to $18.5 billion in the first half of this year, says a report.

According to a Mercom Capital report, the total corporate funding was at $12 billion in the January-June period in 2022, the report said, adding that corporate funding includes venture capital, public market and debt financing.

"Even amidst tightening financial market conditions and high interest rates, the solar industry remained strong in the first half of the year.

"Besides AI, cleantech is one of the few sectors still attracting VC interest. Demand due to the Inflation Reduction Act (in the US) is so strong that even interest-rate sensitive public markets and debt financing increased," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

During January-June 2023, global VC funding was at $3.8 billion through 33 deals, 3 per cent compared to $3.7 billion in 53 deals in the first half of 2022.

In India, some of the companies which raised VC funding are CleanMax Solar ($360 million), Navitas Solar ($5 million) and Prozeal Infra Engineering ($4 million).

The global debt financing sector saw a total of $8 billion funding from 33 deals, up 60 per cent from $5 billion raised through 30 transactions in January-June 2022.

Domestic firm ReNew secured $400 million in this segment.

Solar public market financing in the first six months of this year stood at $6.7 billion in 14 deals, 103 per cent higher than $3.3 billion through eight deals in the corresponding period in 2022.

Vibrant Energy secured $268 million financing from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to construct 300 MWac of wind-solar hybrid projects in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka in the project funding segment, it said.