ACME seeks funding to triple solar generation capacity to 10 GW

The firm plans to expand its solar capacity in five years at a cost of $2.7b.

India’s ACME Solar Holdings Pvt. is looking for partners to help fund a plan to more than triple its solar generation capacity.

The company, which in 2018 aborted a public listing because of stock market turbulence and uncertainty over the nation’s energy policy, plans to expand its solar capacity to 10 gigawatts over the next five years for ₹200b ($2.7b), Founder and Chairman Manoj K. Upadhyay said.

“It’s a capital intensive business, so we will try to have as many partners as we can,” Upadhyay said. “This will help us unlock capital for our new projects and prove what we’re building has value.”

Energy Economic Times reported that the firm is counting on India’s growing appeal as a renewable power market, with the world’s third-biggest emitter seeking to roll out a record amount of solar and wind over the next decade and move away from fossil fuels. It is seeking to raise about a quarter of the total investment by tapping global investors from private equity firms to pension funds and oil giants that are pouring billions of dollars into the nation’s renewable companies.

ACME has previously locked in investment deals with Brookfield Renewable Partners LP for a 450-megawatt project and with Norway’s Scatec ASA for a 900-megawatt plant. It will fund about three-quarters of the latest expansion plan through loans and sell stakes or some projects outright for the remainder. It is also in talks with potential investors to sell a stake in the solar holding company, which is owned entirely by the founders, and a decision may come as early as this year, Upadhyay said.

“Investors have now started to look at renewables differently from coal power,” Upadhyay said, adding that the company will resume public listing plans once it becomes a 10-gigawatt solar power company.