India is a key part of KKR’s Asia infrastructure strategy.

Image: Encavis AG

US private equity investor KKR has followed up its India investment in Sterlite Power’s grid trust with a deal to acquire five solar energy assets from Mumbai-based infrastructure developer Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Capital (SP Infra).

As per the agreement signed with SP Infra, KKR will acquire five solar energy assets from SP Infra—169 MWp in Maharashtra and 148 MWp in Tamil Nadu—for a sum of Rs 15.54 billion (approximately US$204 million). 

Last year, in its first infrastructure investment in Asia, KKR together with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, invested Rs 10.84 billion (US$ 157 million) and Rs 9.80 billion (US$142 million), respectively, to collectively own 42% stake in power infrastructure investment trust IndiGrid (India Grid Trust or the InvIT). IndiGrid was set up by Sterlite Power to own inter-state power transmission assets in India.

Asia Pacific is a core focus for KKR’s global infrastructure strategy, and India is a key market for KKR in the region given its dynamism, the scale of investment opportunities and its crucial need for capital solutions. 

Speaking about SP Infra deal, David Luboff, Head of Asia Pacific Infrastructure at KKR said, “Given the growing demand across Asia Pacific for sustainable energy solutions, we also see this as a great example of how KKR can bring capital and expertise to assets to help meet the demand for infrastructure development. Looking ahead, we are excited to explore even more renewable energy opportunities in India and overseas.”

Sanjay Nayar, CEO of KKR India, added, “SP Infra and the Shapoorji Pallonji Group are recognized in India and worldwide for the high quality of their renewable energy projects. Given the government’s ambitious target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, we believe this is an attractive time to invest in this portfolio and provide even greater solar energy solutions to communities across India.”

“This deal further demonstrates SP Infra’s continued track record of developing high-quality infrastructure assets in its chosen spaces, creating value for further growth in its businesses, and be the partner of choice for high-quality international investors like KKR,” said Mukundan Srinivasan, managing director of SP Infra.

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group, based in Mumbai, operates in over 70 countries with a global turnover of over US$5 billion. SP Infra is the infrastructure development arm with assets and businesses in the renewable and gas-based power, highways, port and terminals in India and overseas.

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This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-india.com and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-india.com).

Photo: CNE El Salvador

The recent increase in emissions has been driven by the presence of relatively new countries in the market such as Germany, Japan or Denmark, the recovery of emissions in the United States and robust corporate and agency activity.

They have also appeared in the global market, incoming new sectors, including the liquid transport industry through large tankers, mining companies and airports. This presence has raised dissimilar opinions about the difference between green bonds and transitional bonds and what criteria and categories should be applied for each case.

This evolution responds primarily to the growing demand of investors who turn to the green bond market that continues to grow vigorously.

Indeed, as of November 30, 2019, green bond issues reached USD 247.6bn and the total accumulated issues since the market began in 2008 exceeded USD 800 billion. Other alternative registers, such as the accounting carried out by the Climate Bonds Initiative, exhibit similar emission levels, only slightly below that (USD 235.7 bn), also highlighting the strong presence of developed markets in the most recent issues.

In the region of Latin America and the Caribbean, an issue of the Colombian entity Autonomous Equity Securitization that specifies a first issuance in Colombian pesos of sustainability bonds worth USD41 million is worth noting. The proceeds of the emission will be used by the concessionaires to acquire buses that operate on compressed natural gas to circulate in four corridors of the Transmilenio fast transit bus (BRT) system. The vehicles to be purchased comply with the EURO VI emission standard.

Among many other recent issues, the Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, which returned to the market with a second issue of 750m euros (USD831m), will be dedicated to financing circular economy initiatives in different sectors, an incipient trend that will deepen in The near future among financial institutions.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-latam.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-latam.com ).

Current energy systems are not supporting the transition to a system based on Renewable Energies, agreed the participants of the third Public-Private Dialogue, organized by the IRENA Coalition for Action.

Policymakers, legislators, the private sector and civil society representatives present called for greater system flexibility, more active participation of market players and a redesign of the current configuration of the energy system to accommodate a higher proportion of Renewable Energies.

“We should be seeing explosive growth of Renewable Energy, however, this is not the case worldwide. Creating encouraging market designs will be key, ”said Ben Backwell, CEO of the World Wind Energy Council and co-chair of the Coalition's Group of Companies and Investors. This sentiment set the tone for discussions centered on how to achieve a 100 percent energy system based on Renewable Energies.

In the last decade, many countries have witnessed enormous advances in Renewable Energies according to the latest findings of the Coalition for Action in their white paper on public services in transition to 100 percent of Renewable Energies.

Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes, vice president of the European Federation of Renewable Energies and co-chair of the 'Towards 100 percent Renewable Energies' working group of the Coalition, said: “More and more countries, regions, cities and public service companies from all over the world recognize the benefits of moving to very high percentages of Renewable Energies, not only in power but also in all sectors of end use ”.

Address perceived risk

The expansion of investment is essential to advance Renewable Energy, particularly in regions with high renewable energy potential, such as Africa.

The participants in the dialogue demonstrated a significant interest in investing in that continent, however, the presence of real and perceived risks limits the flow of renewable energy projects, both small and large.

Although each country presents unique investment contexts, a series of common solutions to manage and mitigate risk were identified, including the creation of stable long-term policy frameworks; improve market design (with a focus on eliminating investment risks); and the adoption of integrated planning strategies focused on renewables.

Participants also agreed that early participation of local communities, continuous collaboration among all stakeholders and inclusive decision-making processes are key to ensuring that renewable energy projects lead to inclusive development.

In this context, Francesco La Camera, Director General of IRENA stressed the importance of platforms for public-private exchange and knowledge sharing. "The Public-Private Dialogue has become an important platform for IRENA to involve a variety of stakeholders in the discussion on how we can work better together to expand the deployment of renewable energy and maximize socio-economic benefits."

Throughout the meeting, participants expressed concern that the renewable energy goals in general, and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in particular, do not meet what It is needed to achieve global climate goals, especially in rich and high-carbon nations.

In reporting on the meeting at the opening of the IRENA Assembly, Bruce Douglas, Deputy Executive Director of Solar Power Europe, on behalf of the Coalition for Action, called on all governments to urgently improve their NDCs this year and reminded the countries: "significantly more ambitious renewable energy goals and national frameworks are required to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement".

The dialogue was organized by the IRENA Coalition for Action in the context of the Tenth IRENA Assembly on January 10. The meeting sought to foster a common understanding of the necessary steps to urgently increase the participation of Renewable Energies and accelerate investments.

This article originally appeared on www.pv-magazine-mexico.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-mexico.com ).