Petronas arm leads race to climb green tower at Brookfield

Of the portfolio, 1 GW is operational and projects with a capacity of 1 GW are under construction, expected to be completed within 18 months, said the people cited.

Five years after entering the renewable energy sector in India, Canadian investor Brookfield Asset Management is looking to partially monetise its assets, having hired bank JP Morgan to run the sale process, ET was first to report in February. Brookfield has about 20 GW of and assets in operation or in the development pipeline across India.

The holdings that will be divested include capacities of 500 MW in Rajasthan, 50 MW in Gujarat, 300 MW in south India and 80 MW in Madhya Pradesh. A Brookfield spokesperson declined to comment. and ONGC didn’t respond to queries.

Brookfield entered the Indian space in 2019 with the of wind farms from Hyderabadbased Axis Energy Ventures for Rs 500 crore. It also picked up 51% in CleanMax Enviro in 2023, with an equity investment of Rs 3,000 crore. In 2022, Brookfield monetised its road portfolio by selling it to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in a deal valued at Rs 9,375 crore ($1.2 billion at the time).

Gentari, which operates locally through Gentari Renewables India, has been aggressively looking for buyout opportunities in the country. Last month, Finnish firm Fortum signed an agreement to sell a 43.75% stake in its 185 MW solar power portfolio in India to Gentari Renewables India.

In October 2023, Gentari invested $1.5 billion for a 30% stake in AM Green Ammonia Holdings BV (AMG Ammonia), a green ammonia platform of AM Green set up by Greenko Energy Holdings, a renewable energy company. Gentari also owns Amplus Solar, with a portfolio of more than 1.4 GW of distributed solar assets serving over 300 companies in the commercial and industrial sector.

In July 2023, Gentari and renewable energy provider ReNew Energy Global formed a joint venture with 5 GW of renewable capacity in India. The collaboration follows Gentari's initial investment for a 49% equity stake in ReNew's 403 MW Peak Power project in May. Similarly, ONGC is also exploring buyout opportunities in the space as part of decarbonising its operations. ONGC plans to have a 10 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030 with an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore. In February, the company set up ONGC Green for its renewable operations.

ONGC’s total installed capacity of renewable energy as of March 2023 was 189.53 MW — 36.52 MW of solar energy and 153 MW of wind energy. ONGC is in talks to form a consortium with NTPC Green Energy to bid for National Investment and Infrastructure Fund-owned Ayana Renewable Power, ET reported a week ago.

Brookfield is one among the early infrastructure investors in India. Since 2014, Brookfield has deployed about $25 billion in the country, including a Rs 25,215 crore investment in Jio Towers, a Rs 21,000 crore deal to buy ATC India and a Rs 13,000 crore buyout of East-West Pipeline (formerly Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure).

India has attracted investments of Rs 1.32 lakh crore in the renewable energy sector in the past three years. Installed renewable energy capacity is expected to increase to about 170 GW by March 2025 from 132 GW in October 2023, according to research agency Icra.