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After Welspun deal, Tata Power at No. 2 in renewable energy sector

Tata Power Co. Ltd’s purchase of Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt. Ltd will make the Tata group utility the second largest producer of renewable energy in India, enabling it to expand rapidly in a sector that’s attracting global investors.The $1.38 billion deal is the “largest transaction in the renewables space for India”, the company said late on Sunday night.Tata Power’s billion-dollar bet comes at a time when the government has set ambitious targets for the clean energy sector, which has attracted the attention of large renewable energy companies and global financial investors. Traditional power producers such as Tata Power are looking to expand their clean energy portfolios quickly.“The reason we have decided to buy large assets now is that being in the solar industry we were very clear that the prices of silicon will come down... We clearly waited till such time till the prices are in a stable zone for silicon as well as the entire capex,” Anil Sardana, chief executive officer of Tata Power, said on Monday.

Tata Power’s wholly owned subsidiary Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL) operates 294MW of renewable power capacity, with about 400MW of solar and wind projects under implementation. About 500MW of renewable assets are being carved out of Tata Power into TPREL through a court process, the company said.