Regional development financial institution Asian Development Bank (ADB) may lend $100 million to New Delhi-based solar power developer ACME Solar Energy Pvt Ltd, as per a disclosure.
The fund raised would be used for the development of 200 MW of solar photovoltaic power projects by ACME Solar Energy Private Limited during 2014-16.
ACME Solar is a three-way joint venture between ACME Cleantech Solutions Ltd, EDF Energies Nouvelles, the renewable energy arm of French state-run electricity firm Electricite de France S A, and Luxembourg-based natural resources saving group EREN.
Last month, International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, said it may extend a loan facility of Rs 201.9 crore ($34 million) to ACME Solar Energy for its proposed 100 MW solar project in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. This was the second and final tranche of the overall envelope for debt funding of $50 million which IFC had committed to ACME Solar to be used for various projects.
ACME Solar has already commissioned a 25 MW solar power plant in Madhya Pradesh and is developing a 25 MW solar power plant in Odisha.
As of September 15, 2014, around 32.16 per cent stake in ACME Solar is held by Acme Cleantech Solutions Pvt Ltd; MKU Holdings owns 17.84 per cent stake while EDF Energies Nouvelles (EDF EN) and EREN S.A own 26 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively.
Acme Cleantech and MKU Holdings are part of the ACME Group which was founded by Manoj Upadhyay in 2003. The ACME Group is into energy, environmental and telecommunications infrastructure solutions in India. It has presence in over 15 countries, 2,000 employees and an installed base of more than 150,000 telecom towers globally.
EDF EN is a subsidiary of the energy giant EDF Group while Eren is a holding company, which through its subsidiaries, owns and operates solar and wind farms. The company, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures and owns equipment allowing its customers and partners to rationalise their consumption of energy resources and other natural resources. Eren SA was founded in 2012 by Pâris Mouratoglou and David Corcha.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
