New Delhi: India’s coal power giant NTPC Ltd. expects to raise 150 billion rupees ($2 billion) through initial public offerings in three units including its renewables business, and the paring of a joint venture stake, according to a company official familiar with the plans.
The state-run generator plans to sell shares in NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd. within a year, the official said, asking not to be named as the plans are still not public. A listing of hydropower unit North Eastern Electric Power Corp., which it bought last year, and power trading arm, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd., are planned for early 2024, the person said.
The New Delhi-based company is also looking to sell its stake in NTPC-SAIL Power Co., a joint venture with Steel Authority of India Ltd. for supplying electricity to the steelmaker’s mills and townships.
NTPC, India’s largest electricity producer, has pivoted toward green energy as pressure mounts to reduce coal usage because of the fuel’s role in global warming and its harmful impact on environment and human health. Rising climate change concerns have restricted funding to fossil fuel projects and funneled investments into green energy.
India’s fossil fuel tycoons including Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and Sajjan Jindal have acknowledged the shift, and announced plans for a record expansion in green energy.
By the time it’s listed, NTPC Renewable Energy will aim to have at least 10 gigawatts of generation capacity, according to the official. The company may merge its 800-megawatt Koldam hydropower project in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh with the renewables subsidiary, the person said.
NTPC has won bids for 2,765 megawatts of renewables projects since the start of the fiscal year in April, 77% more than the whole prior fiscal year.
The company, which runs nearly 90% of its generation capacity on coal, raised the scale of its green ambitions earlier this year, saying it would help build 60 gigawatts of renewable energy projects by 2032, almost double the earlier plan.
The company has also been looking to expand its hydropower fleet, buying two government producers, including North Eastern Electric, last year for $1.5 billion. Its power trading unit NTPC Vidyut Vyapar has started to tap energy transition projects, including electric mobility. –Bloomberg
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