Fortum aims EUR 200–400 million investment in solar projects in India

Sanjay_Aggarwal_MD_Fortum_India_Pvt_Ltd

Fortum aims to make EUR 200–400 million or $228-$456 million investment in solar projects in India.

At present, Fortum’s main areas of operation are the Nordic and the Baltic countries, Russia and Poland. The annual sales (excluding the divested electricity distribution business)  was EUR 4.1 billion, and operating profit was EUR 1.1 billion in 2014.

Fortum currently has 15 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity in India. In January 2016, Fortum won a reverse auction for a 70 MW project with a fixed tariff for 25 years. In April 2016, Fortum decided to bid for an additional 100 MWs in India, with a fixed tariff for 25 years.

Fortum, a renewable energy company based in Finland, will be targeting large-scale greenfield development. In addition, the company will consider seeking possible partnerships or other forms of cooperation.

The European solar technology company will select projects in India from central, state and public sectors undertaking (PSU) schemes, which would guarantee a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA).

The present Indian government has set a renewable energy generation capacity target of 100 gigawatt of solar capacity and 60 GW of wind power by 2022.

Fortum is targeting a gigawatt-scale wind and solar portfolio. Fortum’s solar strategy targets a wider geographic scope than the company’s current business portfolio, and hence will entail entering selected new locations globally.