ACME Solar Holdings has secured a debt tie-up of Rs 4,725 crore from leading Indian financial institutions to fund the construction of renewable energy projects and optimise its capital structure by lowering financing costs.
The funding, raised through various subsidiaries, includes both fresh financing and refinancing with a long tenor of 18 to 20 years.
PFC, NaBFID back new greenfield projects
As part of the greenfield financing, ACME Solar raised Rs 2,716 crore from Power Finance Corporation for its 300 MW ACME Sigma FDRE project. The project combines renewable energy with four hours of battery storage.
The company also secured its first greenfield project financing from the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure Development. NaBFID has sanctioned Rs 800 crore for the 150 MW ACME Platinum Solar plus energy storage project, which includes two hours of battery storage with 50% availability.
ACME Solar said both projects have grid connectivity in place and are at advanced stages of construction.
Yes Bank refinancing cuts cost of debt
ACME Solar has also refinanced Rs 1,209 crore through Yes Bank for its operational 300 MW ACME Sikar Solar project. The refinancing is expected to reduce the cost of debt by 170 basis points initially, with the benefit rising to 195 basis points over time.
This marks the first long-term refinancing provided by Yes Bank to ACME Solar.
Over Rs 10,500 crore greenfield financing in current year
With the latest fundraise, ACME Solar has secured around Rs 10,590 crore of greenfield financing in the current financial year. This has resulted in an overall debt tie-up covering more than 90% of the power purchase agreements signed for projects under construction.
The company has also refinanced debt of about Rs 3,380 crore, achieving an average rate reduction of around 135 basis points. In addition, ACME Solar secured a further rate cut of nearly 60 basis points on about Rs 4,035 crore of debt for other projects, including two operational assets that have moved to a fixed-rate regime with existing lenders.
“This initiative is consistent with the Company’s long-term funding strategy to maintain a well-diversified and strategic mix of fixed and floating rate borrowings,” the compant said in its BSE release.
Non-fund limits expanded to support construction
ACME Solar has expanded its non-fund based limits during the year with banks such as ICICI Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and EXIM Bank.
These limits help lower the overall cost of debt by enabling the use of trade finance during the construction phase of projects.
Share price of ACME Solar
The share price of ACME Solar has declined 2.09% so far this year