MUMBAI: Adani Green Energy Ltd. plans to raise up to $ 12 billion through sales of green bonds over the next four to five years to fund billionaire Gautam Adaniâs plan to make it the worldâs biggest renewable energy player.
This will be Indiaâs largest sale of green paper and it is expected to catalyse the countryâs lacklustre green bond market in sync with the governmentâs focus on solar and wind energy. Last year, the sale of global green bonds and loans rose 50% to an estimated $ 255 billion, making it an attractive option for solar and wind energy companies.
âAGEL, with current issued bonds, planned issuance of under-development assets and committed pipeline of assets, will end up with close to $ 10 to 12 billion of green bonds over the next four to five years,â Adani group CFO Jugeshinder Singh told ET. âThis is consistent with our public commitment of 25,000 MW capacity by 2025.â
The proposed green bond sale is likely from May next year, with the company raising $ 2-3 billion annually. The green bond proceeds are mandated to be used to produce non-conventional energy.
Climate Bonds Initiative, an international body that did not certify Adani Greenâs proposed offshore green bond sale in May last year, now hinted at approving future issuances. Adani Green raised $ 362.5 million in October through the same route.
âWe incredibly support you on renewable plans,â Sean Kidney, cofounder of Climate Bonds Initiative, said in an exclusive webinar on non-conventional energy organised by Climate Bonds, FICCI and MUFG Bank. âWe applaud what you are doing on the solar side. Our job is to push you on the coal side and welcome you on the green side.â
Earlier, the Adani Group CFO took a dig at Climate Bonds, citing Adani Greenâs expansion in renewable energy. In the past decade, the business has changed, with the share of fossil fuel sliding. Renewable power, transmission, distribution and logistics now collectively form almost three-fourths of the business.
âWe had a bitter experience that Seanâs group did not certify it as a green issuance,â said Singh who was one of the panellists in the webinar.
Adani Green aims to be the worldâs largest renewable energy company by 2025. Last week, the Solar Energy Corporation of India awarded Adani Groupâs renewable energy arm a project to build an 8 giga-watt solar power plant and 2 GW of solar cell and module manufacturing capacity over the next five years. The tender award was the worldâs largest in the solar energy space.
With this win, Adani Green will have 15 GW of capacity under operation, construction or contract. Besides, the company will raise $ 5-6 billion through vanilla foreign currency bonds to help develop Indiaâs transmission network to cope with renewable power.
âWe are committed to both fronts: producing and delivering of power,â Singh said.
In past one month, Adani Green Energy shares have surged almost 50%, outpacing the BSE Energy index, which rose 9.4%.