Goldman tops up India wind investment

The private equity arm of Goldman Sachs has invested $135 million in ReNew Wind Power, a renewable energy firm in India, a spokesman from the bank confirmed to Private Equity International, Infrastructure Investor's sister publication. The capital injection is an add-on to Goldman’s original $250 million investment in the firm in September 2011. 

ReNew has signed agreements with Kenersys GmBH, Regen Powertech and Suzlon Energy to establish and operate wind farms throughout India and hopes to expand its wind portfolio by 200 – 300 megawatts annually, according to an earlier statement from the firm.

ReNew Wind Power has several wind projects under development, including a 25 megawatts wind farm in Gujarat and 60 megawatts wind farm in Maharashtra, hoping to reach a 1 gigawatt capacity by 2015.

Goldman has been active in India recently across a number of sectors, having invested $110 million in cable television company Den Networks and $20 million in BLP Medical Technologies, both in May.

However, the bank is increasing its activity in the renewables sector in particular and has said it is also planning to invest up to JPY 50 billion (€385 million; $503 million) in Japan Renewable Energy, a firm set up by the bank last year to help fund as much as JPY 300 billion in clean energy projects in the country over the next five years, Goldman told PEI.

These commitments are part of its global plan to put $40 billion toward investing and financing clean technology and renewables over the next decade.

Goldman had previously invested in China’s Suntech Power, which was one of the world’s largest solar-panel makers in terms of revenue. However, Suntech filed for bankruptcy last month, having expanded aggressively and suffered from the overproduction of solar panels in China, which drove costs down in the industry. Goldman also has a stake in Korean wind turbine tower manufacturer, CS Wind, which has said it will list in Seoul next year, according to media reports.