Short takes

Spain's Gamesa plugs into Solar India Gamesa Corp, Spain's renewable energy firm, has brought 58 MW of solar parks in India in the first quarter of 2016. Gamesa has commissioned a total of 12 MW of solar capacity with an eye on the Indian govermment's renewable energy drive. The firm's expansion in the Indian solar market aligns with its goal to explore opportunities in businesses that complement the wind industry, the firm said. Gamesa is one of the many multinational companies who have entered India's renewables space. It has secured four new orders for the supply of 198MW in India. The contracts encompass the supply of 50 G114-2.0 MW Class S (100 MW) turbines at a wind farm located in the Indian state of Karnataka, scheduled for commissioning in March 2017, and 12 turbines of the same make (24 MW) at another facility in the same state (slated for commissioning mid-2016). The company also secured contracts for the turnkey construction of two wind farms in the state of Rajasthan: one project with capacity of 50 MW, where Gamesa will install 25 of its G97-2.0 MW turbines, and another one with capacity of 24 MW, equipped with 12 of its G97-2.0 MW Class S turbines. As these are EPC contracts, the company will also handle the entire infrastructure needed to install and operate the facilities. Both projects are due for commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2016. Under the National Solar Mission, the government wants to deploy 100 GW of solar energy of the country by 2022. Fortum to aid Indian solar projects Finland based state-run utility, Fortum Corp, will invest €200-400 million in India's solar energy sector, making it the first country the clean energy firm will invest in as part of its strategy to diversify globally. Fortum said in a statement: “Overall, Fortum is targeting a gigawatt-scale wind and solar portfolio. India is the first country Fortum has decided to enter, as the country offers one of the best solar resources and a sound government support for the development of the solar sector.” The Indian government has plans of boosting the generation of solar power to 100 GW by 2022. Currently the solar generation in the country is at 5.25 GW. Sanjay Aggarwal, MD, Fortum India, said: “It is hard to ignore India. It is a market for large utilities like us. Fortum′s investment in solar is just in India. “The Indian risk profile suits large utilities with robust financing. The Indian market is unlikely to give favourable and quick returns to PE-backed small players. Going ahead, large utilities are the way forward. “We will not take land and evacuation risk, especially in bigger plants and not spread our-self thin. Out of 12 tenders that came during last fiscal, we participated in only three. As for quoting tariff, we already have a floor price calculated earlier when we bid. We are not looking to acquire assets just to own them but what matches our financial planning.” The company is also considering possible partnerships or other forms of cooperation, which would in the long-term create a more asset-light structure. Singapore, UAE invest in India's energy Indian renewables firm Greenko Energy Holdings has announced a $230-million joint investment from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Singapore government's sovereign fund GIC. It said the funds will be a major boost in its endeavor to expand its footprints in India. Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty, Greenko Group CEO, said: “With our attractive diversified renewable power portfolio, we will continue to execute on our vision to be the most admired independent power producer delivering multiple gigawatts of clean energy at grid parity to support the growth of the Indian economy.” While ADIA, which is investing in the company for the first time, will bring in $130 million, GIC will invest $50 million. The company is reportedly looking to expand its presence in the Indian renewables and clean energy market through inorganic growth in the hydropower sector and also plans to acquire assets in that market segment.