Enel taps Norfund for Indian solar push

Enel has tapped Norwegian investment fund Norfund to jointly finance, build and operate new renewables projects in India.

The Italian utility’s Green Power division has signed a long-term agreement with state-owned international development fund Norfund which will form an investment framework, under which Enel Green Power India will develop and construct solar power plants in India.

Norfund will then have the right to invest in projects once specific milestone are reached, becoming an equity partner alongside Enel Green Power India in individual projects.

No specific investment cap or floor has been announced by the two companies, but they have pointed towards India’s substantial targets for solar and wind capacity. India intends to have 100GW of solar and 60GW of wind generation capacity by 2022, a significant uptick from their existing respective capacities.

The partnership also comes a week after Enel scored its first solar development contract in India, securing a deal with Solar Energy Corporation of India for a 300MWdc / 420MWac project in Rajasthan, part of SECI’s ninth tranche national solar tender.

Antonio Cammisecra, CEO at Enel Green Power, said the agreement with Norfund would enable the company to “expand and strengthen” its presence in India.

"By joining forces with an important partner such as Norfund, which shares our commitment towards sustainability and decarbonization, we will leverage on our technical expertise to harness the significant renewable growth potential of India, while contributing to the achievement of the country's sustainable energy targets,” he said.

“India has ambitious targets to increase the penetration of renewables, and there is a great need for more capital combined with technical expertise to realize them. By partnering with an experienced company like Enel Green Power, we believe we can contribute to both create jobs and promote the transition to renewables,” Tellef Thorleifsson, CEO at Norfund, added.

Previous partners of Norfund’s in the PV space include compatriot developer Scatec Solar. The two formed a similarly-aimed agreement in 2014 to jointly invest in solar projects in developing countries in Africa.