Indian real estate developer Embassy Group plans to make a foray into the renewable energy sector and has announced a target to develop a 1 GW solar photovoltaic power capacity.
The company will initially develop a 200 MW project and expand the installed capacity to 1 GW over a period of 5 years. The plant will be executed by the newly formed subsidiary of the Embassy Group, Embassy Energy. Embassy Energy will be looking after the renewable energy business of the company as an Independent Power Producer (IPP). The plant would entail an invest of Rs 1400 crores (USD 225 million) and will be funded by 70% debt and 30% equity.
The plant will be built over two phases of 100 MW each with expected commissioning of both the phases by March 2017. Once built, this plant will cater to the company’s captive consumption and will supply the power to Embassy Group’s corporate parks in Bengaluru that consume around 3,000 million units annually.
Currently, the company is engaged in the process of securing all approvals and clearances for the plant from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The company does not foresee any major challenges in this process since the approval system is very quick for renewable energy projects in India.
“Once the 200MW project is operational, the company will become an IPP (independent power producer). We will then look at doing bigger solar and wind power plants,” said Anshul Singhal, CEO of Embassy Energy. Embassy Group is also planning to set up a solar plant in Pune.
The country’s total installed solar power capacity stands at 4.3 GW at the end of September 2015 wherein Karnataka’s contribution is 104 MW.
India plans to have an operational solar power capacity of 100 GW by March 2022. The government will offer several benefits and incentives to project developers to achieve this ambitious target, and as a result several companies are looking to diversify into the solar power sector.
