French company Engie likely to invest Rs. 6,500 crore in solar energy in India.

Engie, the French power giant with a global installed capacity of 115.3 gigawatts across all forms of energy, expects to invest a minimum of $1 billion (about 6,500 crore) in the solar segment in India over the next five years.

'$1 billion is the bare minimum,' said chief executive Isabelle Kocher said. 'We intend to win 400 MW a year, which means an investment of almost half a billion annually. It is a highly capital-intensive business.'

But it all depends upon whether the projects on offer suit the company that reported 66.6 billion euro of revenue in 2016. 'It boils down to the quality of projects,' said Malcolm Wrigley, Engie's India CEO. 'If we find projects we are comfortable with, then for sure the money is available.'

In March this year, Engie, through subsidiary SolaireDirect, won a 250 MW solar project in an NTPC-conducted auction at the Kadapa Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh, bidding a tariff of Rs 3.15 per kwH. In January 2016, it had won 140 MW at another NTPC auction at the Bhadla Solar Park, Rajasthan.

'When these are completed, our investment in India's renewable energy will be in the range of $50 million,' said Wrigley. The company currently has around 200 MW of solar projects commissioned and operating in India.

Engie is also an investor in Petronet LNG, which owns India's first LNG terminal, and in the Kakinada LNG project.

ET