Sino-Canadian tie-up sets sights on Indian solar

SkyPower, the Toronto-based developer, has teamed with Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD to bid for Indian solar power and energy storage projects with a total capacity of 750MW. 

The joint venture aims to combine SkyPower’s experience in building utility-scale solar farms with BYD’s battery storage technology, which they hope will give them an edge in rolling out renewable power facilities across India. 

The Canadian developer has also teamed with Sterling and Wilson, an Indian solar contractor, to build a total of 350MW of additional solar projects in India. The construction of seven 50MW plants – 150MW in Madhya Pradesh and 200MW in Telangana – will commence in the second half of this year. 

Upon the completion of these projects, SkyPower will have a 1.1GW solar portfolio in India. The country aims to generate 100GW from solar by 2022. 

SkyPower, majority-owned by US investment firm CIM Group, has built, assembled and acquired a pipeline of more than 25GW worldwide since inception. About 9GW of these are to be built in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia over the next five years, according to a statement. 

Warren Buffett-backed BYD is also the world’s largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries. It has interests in high-efficiency automobiles, electrified public transportation, energy storage, small-scale solar power and information technology. Among the projects it recently backed is a 50MW rooftop solar facility in India's Gujarat, according to its website.