Hareon Solar Technology plans to partner with alternative asset manager, Nereus Capital (Nereus) to develop over 150MW of solar power projects in India over the next two years. This partnership follows Hareon’s announcement earlier this month that it will establish a subsidiary in India to invest in PV projects in the country.
“India is a compelling and growing market for solar PV projects,” said Dr. Jie Zhang, VP of Global Business Development of Hareon. “By partnering with an Indian private equity firm, we are able to apply out technology and end-to-end financing to efficiently develop and construct solar projects.”
India currently suffers from a 9.3% average energy deficit that stifles industry, restricts economic growth, and results in routine blackouts. Further, an estimated 300 million people in India do not currently have access to electricity. In 2013, India ranked 6th worldwide in annual solar capacity additions with installations of 1.1 GW. Total installations in 2016, including utility, commercial and industrial sectors, are expected to exceed 8 GW.
Nereus’ India Solar Investment Trust seeks to generate stable yields by investing in utility-scale solar PV projects in India with creditworthy off-takers.
“I think we’ve reached an interesting inflection point for solar power in India,” said Jonathan Winer, Managing Director at Nereus. “As a result of falling project costs and escalating electricity prices, it can now be cost-effective for certain industrial and commercial end-users of power in India to purchase solar power directly.”
Nereus is an affiliated company of Northern Lights Capital Group, a multi-boutique asset management business with $22.6 billion in AUM across 13 affiliated companies as of June 30, 2014