Adani Green Energy Gets World's Largest Solar Award Worth $6 Billion

Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) has won the first of its kind manufacturing-linked solar agreement from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

As a part of the award, AGEL will build eight gigawatts (GW) of solar projects along with a commitment that will see Adani Solar establish two GW of additional solar cell and module manufacturing capacity.

This award, the largest of its type ever in the world, will entail a single investment of six billion dollars and create four lakh direct and indirect jobs. It will also displace 900 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifetime, the company said in a statement.

With this win, AGEL will now have 15 GW capacity under operation, construction or under contract thereby accelerating its journey towards becoming the world's largest renewables company by 2025.

This award will also take AGEL closer to its target of achieving an installed generation capacity of 25 GW of renewable power by 2025 which in turn will see it committing a total investment of 15 billion dollars in the renewable energy space over the next five years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a commitment at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris that India will lead the climate change revolution and will, in fact, fulfill the majority of its COP21 commitments nine years ahead of the 2030 deadline.

"In today's world, climate adaptation cannot be considered independent of economic development priorities and both job creation, as well as decarbonisation, must be simultaneous objectives," said Chairman of the Adani Group Gautam Adani.

"The fact that renewable power will transition into becoming the world's cleanest and most economical fuel is a foregone conclusion and the Adani Group intends to play a leading role in this journey," he said.

Based on the award agreement the eight GW of solar development projects will be implemented over the next five years. The first two GW of generation capacity will come online by 2022 and the subsequent six GW capacity will be added in two GW annual increments through 2025.

The projects will include a variety of locations, including a two GW single-site generation project that is tied for the rank of the largest single-site project announced globally. The solar cell and module manufacturing capacity of two GW will be established by 2022 and along with the existing 1.3 GW of capacity will further consolidate the group's position as India's largest solar manufacturing facility.

AGEL's business model of focusing on long-term contracts with investment-grade counterparties, rapidly constructing large projects and thereafter building solar development partnerships with major global integrated energy players that seek to reduce their carbon footprint has enabled it to expand rapidly since its public listing less than two years ago.