Bharti Airtel, one of India’s largest telecom companies, and its data center subsidiary, Nxtra Data, have acquired a 7.03% and 11.33% equity stake in Avaada KNShorapur, a special purpose vehicle operating a 10 MW open access solar project in Karnataka.

Airtel has acquired the stake for a cash consideration of ₹17.42 million (~$228,387) to acquire 1.74 million equity shares of ₹10 (~$0.13) each. Meanwhile, Nxtra Data has acquired the stake for a cash consideration of ₹28.07 million (~$368,016) for 2.80 million equity shares of ₹10 (~$0.13) each.

Incorporated on October 4, 2021, Avaada KNShorapur is an SPV under Avaada Indiclean, an SPV created by Avaada Energy to develop a 50 MW open access solar project in Karnataka. The power from the open access project is intended to be solar of commercial and industrial (C&I) entities under the group captive model.

According to Mercom’s Solar Open Access Market Report Q4 and Annual 2021, Karnataka continues to be the top state for open access solar as of December 2021, accounting for 38% of the country’s cumulative open access solar installations.

Airtel had earlier acquired a 5.2% equity stake in Avaada’s 21.32 MW open access project in Maharashtra and later bought an additional 3.3% stake in the same project.

Nxtra by Airtel has invested in two captive solar projects of 14 MW each in the State of Uttar Pradesh as part of its focus on green energy sources to power its operations. The Company has an extensive network of data centers in India.

C&I entities are in constant pursuit of energy sources that are clean, green, and also lower in cost compared to the grid power tariffs. With many emerging business models, there is a renewed interest in going solar by larger C&I entities and the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) alike.

Several solar solutions providers are equipped with advanced technologies, financing mechanisms offering attractive solutions to consumers.

To bring the clean energy solutions providers and consumers together to discuss power requirements, cost benefits, challenges, opportunities, and solutions, Mercom is hosting the ‘C&I Clean Energy Meet 2022’ in multiple cities across India, starting with Bangalore on June 3, 2022. The event aims to shed light on optimum solutions for purchasing low-cost, reliable, clean power and learn how the energy market is evolving across the country.