Indian developer of solar and agricultural waste-to-energy projects, SAEL Solar, has raised $132 million in debt from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, French financial services group Societe Generale and New Development Bank, which serves “BRICS” nations.
The funding will finance a 300-megawatt solar power plant in Andhra Pradesh state, which SAEL won with a competitive bid from the Solar Energy Corporation of India. The company secured $1 billion early last year from Norfund, Tata Cleantech, the US Development Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank to expand its solar and biomass projects.
Renewable energy uptick
India is building renewable energy generation capacity at a fast clip. It added nearly 30 gigawatts of energy to reach 220 gigawatts for the financial year of 2024 to 2025. Nearly half the growth was driven by solar; wind, bioenergy and small hydropower are picking up.
Power generated from SAEL’s new plant will be sold to the solar energy corporation through a 25-year power purchase agreement. SAEL’s parent company SAEL Limited, and five subsidiaries last year raised $305 million from a US dollar-denominated green bond, which was oversubscribed by more than six times.
