Global venture capital funding in wind sector up 44% to $455 million

NEW DELHI: Venture Capital investments in the wind energy sector surged 44.4 per cent last year to $455 million (over Rs 2,800 crore) globally.

The top VC-funded company was Indian wind project developer ReNew Power, which raised $135 million last year.

The total global VC funding in 2012 had amounted to $315 million (about Rs 1,950 crore), according to data released by Mercom Capital Group.

The ReNew Power deal, was followed by $133 million raised by Mainstream Renewable Power and $60 million raked in by NSL Renewable Power which is another Indian project developer.

Other deals included $55 million raised by wind turbine maker Ogin (formerly FloDesign), while Green Infra, a domestic renewable power producer, raked in $25 million.

Meanwhile, large-scale project funding announced in 2013 totalled $18.1 billion in 114 deals. In comparison, 2012 saw project funding worth $14 billion in 72 deals.

"There were a total of 150 investors that participated in project funding in 2013," Mercom Capital said.

The most active project funding investor was KfW IPEX- Bank (9 deals), followed by European Investment Bank and Nord/LB with seven and six deals respectively.

One of the notable project fundings in India was a $164 million loan to Continuum Wind Energy from SBI for the firm's 175 MW wind project in Maharashtra.

Orange Jaisalmer Wind Energy received a loan of $36 million for its 50.4 MW wind power plant in Rajasthan.

Mergers and acquisitions in the wind sector saw 33 transactions in 2013. Of these, 18 were disclosed for a combined $2.6 billion.

Debt financing amounted to $3.8 billion through 10 deals announced in 2013. In comparison, debt financing worth $12.5 billion in 16 deals was made in the previous year.

Mercom Capital Group is a global communications and research and consulting firm.