Lightsource Renewable Energy is partnering with UK Climate Investments to fund the development, acquisition and ownership of up to 300MW of solar projects in India. The partners will target greenfield development and the acquisition of operational projects.
The first facility is a 60MW photovoltaic plant in Maharashtra, for which financial close has also been reached.
The project will comprise 200,000 ground-mounted solar panels across 97 hectares, with UK Climate Investments providing 49% of the equity for construction.
UK Climate Investments is contributing £30m (€34m) to the partnership.
Third-party funding and commercial project finance debt will also support the initial and subsequent projects, the partners said.
Lightsource will provide operations and asset management services as part of the partnership agreement.
Lightsource chief executive Nick Boyle said: “The UK Climate Investments partnership, and our first Indian project reaching financial close, are significant milestones in the growth of Lightsource.
“UK Climate Investments are a fantastic partner for us to seed the foundations of a large solar and smart energy investment and operating platform in India.”
The partnership is the first investment for UK Climate Investments, which is part of the Green Investment Group (GIG) – formerly the Green Investment Bank.