Keppel Corp to acquire 51% stake in Cleantech Solar Energy

Keppel Corporation Limited is set to acquire a 51% stake in Shell-backed Cleantech Solar Energy with an investment of $150 million.

Keppel Asia Infrastructure Fund LP (KAIF) and a co-investor of KAIF, will acquire a 51% equity interest in Cleantech Renewable Asset from Cleantech Energy Corporation through Cloud Alpha Pte Limited.

According to the sources, Shell Eastern Petroleum Limited will hold the rest of the 49% of the equity interest in Cleantech.

Cleantech Solar Energy has a portfolio of 600 MW under various stages of development in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Singapore.

CEO and founder of Cleantech Solar Energy, Raju Shukla, said that the company aims to achieve a cumulative generation capacity of 3 GW in the next five years.

CEO of Keppel Corporation, Loh Chin Hua, said that the company plans to accelerate its growth in the renewable energy sector and achieve the target of 7 GW of renewable energy assets by 2030. It also plans to have a 3 GW installed capacity by 2025.

Cleantech Solar Energy focuses on installing high-quality rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects. Its major clients are Apollo Tyres, Bosch Automotive, Cargill, Tata Steel, Akzo Nobel, Coca-Cola, Siam Winery and Unilever. The company also competes with Cleanmax Enviro Energy and Amplus Solar.

It had acquired Rs 200 crore from the infrastructure debt fund for its open access projects in India. The company took a green loan from ING Bank in 2020 and had loan facilities from SBI World Bank and Tata Cleantech Capital. In 2018, Climate Fund Managers (CFM) invested $50 million in Cleantech.

Currently, India has an installed renewable energy capacity of 95 GW. It expects capacity addition to be 10.5-11 GW in FY21-22.

According to a report, India expects an investment of Rs 3.5 lakh crore in renewable energy in the next four years, increasing its share to 34% by March 2025 from 25% in March 2021.

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