Cleanmax to Invest ₹ 600 Cr to Set Up Solar Farm in Haryana

Mumbai: Energy solar solutions provider Cleanmax Solar is setting up 150 MW of solar farm under the group captive model in Haryana with an investment of Rs 600 crore, a senior company official said.

The solar farm will be developed in Sirsa district, on a stretch of 600 acres of land which is well situated for grid stability and to achieve high solar power generation.

“In line with our target to set up nearly 400 MW of solar capacity this fiscal, nearly 80 per cent would be met by private solar farms. We are developing this 150 MW project on group captive model as a part of this plan, which will entail an investment of around Rs 600 crore,” Cleanmax Solar Co- Founder Andrew Hines told PTI here.

A group captive scheme is where someone develops a power plant for collective usage of many commercial consumers.

The captive user should have at least 26 per cent of the equity and has to consume at least 51 per cent of the power produced.

“The project will be funded through a combination of debt and equity. The equity component of Rs 200 crore will have to be contributed by the captive users to the extend of 26 per cent, while the rest Rs 400 crore will be funded through debt,” he said.

“This investment will also help the state to accelerate its renewable energy adoption, decarbonize its power sector, and also generate significant skilled employment in the area,” Hines added.

He said Cleanmax has received the sanction for the solar farms from the state’s Renewable Energy Department (HAREDA) and in-principle feasibility from the state transmission company HVPNL earlier this year, based on its technical and financial eligibility.

Cleanmax Solar has been the pioneer in this segment, having set up the largest group captive solar project for a single corporate consumer in 2017 in Tamil Nadu, he said.

Companies like Adobe India, Mindtree, Volvo Group India, Tata Group, SKF, ACC, United Breweries (UBL), and Bangalore Airport (BIAL) are procuring solar power from our network of private solar farms in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to meet their renewable energy targets.

“Similarly, now in Haryana, corporates can adopt off- site solar power in a hassle-free manner with minimum investment. We will be soon signing long term PPAs with the customers,” he added.

In April this year, The company raised Rs 275 crore from Macquarie managed UK Climate Investments (UKCI) to add 400-500 MW of solar capacity in its portfolio in the next 12 months.

This was the third investment the company has received after it secured equity financing up to Rs 700 crore from affiliate of Warburg Pincus and the International Finance Corporation in 2017.

Cleanmax has set a target to scale up its portfolio from the current over 500 MW to 2000 MW by 2022.

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Source: PTI

Image Courtesy: Renewable Now

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