India’s Adani Green Energy secured a $6bn, 8GW solar contract from the Indian government that it claimed as a world record scale for the sector.
Adani Green will undertake the massive build-out over five years, with the first 2GW by 2022, after being selected by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
The award includes a commitment by Adani Green to build 2GW of solar manufacturing capacity.
One of the projects planned under the 8GW build-out is a 2GW site that the company said is the joint-biggest in the world.
No details were given for the offtake arrangements or power prices agreed under the record award by SECI, which runs renewables procurement for the country’s government.
Adani Group said following the deal it expects to have 25GW of renewable power capacity in place by 2025, “accelerating its journey towards becoming the world’s largest renewables company” by then.
In terms of installed capacity, the 25GW would make Adani Green one of the world’s largest renewables players alongside peers such as China’s CECI, Italy’s Enel and Iberdrola of Spain.
The Indian group said during the build-out it would continue its “business model of focusing on long-term contracts with investment grade counterparties, rapidly constructing large projects, and thereafter building solar development partnerships with major global integrated energy players that seek to reduce their carbon footprint”.
That approach was seen in action earlier this year when French oil supermajor Total bought a 50% share in a 2.1GW chunk of Adani Green's operating capacity.
The Indian government is racing to meet an ambitious solar target of 100GW of installed capacity by 2022, up from about 34GW now, which along with wind at 60GW forms the basis of a total 175GW renewables goal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government wants that to increase to 450GW by 2030.
The manufacturing element of the award is seen as important in India, where the dominance of Chinese imported solar equipment has been the cause of disquiet and calls for trade measures.