State-run Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), said on Tuesday it plans to list on bourses and set up an alternative investment fund (AIF) to tap pension funds, insurance funds, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds.
The initial public offering (IPO) announcement comes against the backdrop of India announcing a renewable energy target of 450 gigawatt (GW) by 2030 that will require large financing.
“IREDA (one of the largest lenders to the green energy space) shall also come out with the IPO of fresh equity shares and plans to make further issue of green bonds in the international and domestic markets to garner capital for onward lending,” the ministry of new and renewable energy said in a statement after the 34th annual general meeting of IREDA on Tuesday.
The other large lenders to the Indian power sector--Power Finance Corp. (PFC) and REC--are already listed. This share sale plan also comes against the backdrop of state-run NTPC starting the groundwork to hold initial share sales of its units NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd and NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd, with merchant bankers making preliminary presentations.
NVVN and NTPC REL are expected to be among the first clean energy firms to list on domestic bourses.
“IREDA is geared up for five-fold growth in the loan book from Rs 28,000 crore ending March 2021 to Rs 1.35 lakh crore ending March 2026. The company plans to increase the revenue per employee from Rs 17 crore in FY21 to Rs 55 crore in FY26,” Pradip Kumar Das, chairman and managing director of IREDA, said.
Das also underlined that IREDA is presently a debt listed company and it is fully geared up for working in the direction of getting equity listed.
IREDA’s push to grow its loan book five-fold over next five years comes at a time when the global window for carbon projects is getting shorter with a shift towards ESG compliance.
IREDA has also invited bids to set up solar manufacturing units under the government’s production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for which Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Adani Group and US- headquartered First Solar are among the 19 firms that have bid.
The minimum capacity of the manufacturing unit to be installed is 1 GW with the PLI to be disbursed to successful applicants annually over a period of five years.
