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Daily News Wrap-Up: APTEL Criticizes MERC for Denying Petitioner Relief

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					</table>(This article updates the previous story from January 31, 2023, to include Adani&#8217;s announcement of FPO withdrawal)
<a href="https://www.adanienterprises.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adani Enterprises</a> will return the recently announced investment of AED 1.4 billion (~$400 million) by Abu-Dhabi’s International Holding Company (<a href="https://www.ihcuae.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IHC</a>) into its three green energy-focused companies. The investment was part of the fully subscribed Follow-on Public Offer (FPO).
Adani Enterprises, in a statement, said that given the unprecedented situation and the current market volatility, the company aims to protect the interest of its investing community by returning the FPO proceeds to all its investors and withdrawing the completed transaction.
Adani Enterprises had planned to use part of the proceeds from the FPO to fund its clean energy initiatives, including green hydrogen projects.
Chairman of Adani Enterprises, Gautam Adani, said, “The market has been unprecedented, and our stock price has fluctuated over the course of the day. Given these extraordinary circumstances, the Company’s board felt that going ahead with the issue would not be morally correct. The interest of the investors is paramount, and hence to insulate them from any potential financial losses, the Board has decided not to go ahead with the FPO.”
The investment is IHC’s first for 2023 as the company plans to diversify. IHC has now planned major investments across Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. The company aims to increase its global acquisition by 70% in 2023, with a key focus on the clean energy and food processing sectors.
“Our interest in Adani Group is driven by our confidence and belief in the fundamentals of Adani Enterprises Ltd. We see a strong potential for growth from a long-term perspective and added value to our shareholders. The advantage of the FPO is the historical reference for the company’s earnings report, company’s management, business practices, and much data to bank on before making any investment decision,” Syed Basar Shueb, Chief Executive Officer, IHC, said after announcing the investment earlier.
With 422 subsidiaries and 82,000 employees, IHC aims to expand and diversify its holdings across a growing number of sectors, including real estate, agriculture, healthcare, food and beverage, utilities, industries, IT and communications, retail and leisure, and capital.
Last April, International Holding Company made an <a href="https://mercomindia.com/adani-green-to-receive-500-million-of-ihcs-2-billion-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> sharing its plans to invest $2 billion in three of the Adani Group companies. IHC said that Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission would receive $500 million each, while Adani Enterprises would receive $1 billion through a preferential allotment route.

Adani Enterprises to Return Abu-Dhabi-Based IHC’s $400 Million Investment

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					</table><a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Microsoft Corporation</a> has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) to procure 900 MW of renewable capacity in Ireland to power its data centers in the country.
The company said Ireland data centers were already operating on batteries to maintain an uninterruptable power supply. It added that a digital layer of intelligence was required to determine ways to balance frequency on the system with respect to the grid.
Microsoft has collaborated with <a href="https://corporate.enelx.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enel X</a> to ensure that the batteries can provide grid services through an instantaneous interaction with the power grid. On days when wind and/or solar power production is fluctuating, Microsoft’s backup batteries can be used to help maintain a steady flow of energy to customers.
The batteries will also promote the mitigation of emissions and reduce fuel costs by cutting the dependency on power plants that burn fossil fuels to provide steady power to Microsoft’s data centers.
Brian Janous, General Manager of Energy at Microsoft, said the batteries create a huge opportunity to be able to see the data center as something more than a consumer of energy, but also a producer and a partner to grid operators to improve reliability and ultimately energy transition.
With an aim to remove carbon in its energy purchases by 2030, the company plans to contract green energy for 100% of carbon-emitting consumption by all its data centers, buildings, and campuses worldwide.
Last year, Microsoft was the second-largest corporate buyer of renewable energy through PPAs. Most of these deals inked by the company are in Europe, including Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain, and will bring over 10 GW of new clean energy capacity online.
In September, Microsoft <a href="https://mercomindia.com/daily-news-wrap-up-microsoft-partners-launch-renewables-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> its plans with two other companies to launch the Global Renewables Watch (GRW)— a first-of-its-kind living atlas to measure and map all utility-scale solar and wind installations on earth using artificial intelligence and satellite imagery.
According to a recently published Wood Mackenzie <a href="https://mercomindia.com/indian-corporates-are-top-green-energy-asia-pacific-region/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, India led the corporate renewable procurement market in the Asia Pacific region for the second year in a row in 2022, by procuring 8.1 GW of total capacity. The region overall contracted 18.6 GW of cumulative renewable capacity through PPAs during the first half of the year.

Microsoft to Buy 900 MW Renewable Power for its Ireland Data Centers

<a href="https://www.dsm.com/corporate/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Royal DSM</a>, a  Netherlands-based multinational corporation, has decided to sell its Resins &amp; Functional Materials and associated business for an equity value of €1.6 billion (~$ 1.87 billion). The deal for the sale has been signed with German adhesive manufacturer <a href="https://www.covestro.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covestro AG</a>.
The company said that the transaction would include its all Resins &amp; Functional Material businesses, including DSM Niaga®, DSM Additive Manufacturing, and the coating activities of DSM Advanced Solar. However, DSM Advanced Solar’s activities in next-generation backsheets for photovoltaic modules remain a part of the company.
According to the company, DSM Resins and Functional Materials business comprises the sustainable coatings division and functional materials division, which supply products like resins for consumption in paints, other industrial applications, and optical fiber coatings. DSM advanced solar coatings are utilized in solar glasses.
According to its press statement, the transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2021. Upon closing of the transaction, the company is expected to receive around €1.4 billion (~$ 1.64 billion) in cash, including repayments of Resins &amp; Functional Materials’ net debt, capital gains tax, and after transaction costs.
“This sale builds on our approach of actively managing our businesses, as DSM continues to evolve as a purpose-lead science-based company operating in the field of nutrition, health, and sustainable living. The deal delivers strong value to DSM and strategically attractive for all parties,” said Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze, Co-Chief Executive Officers of Royal DSM.
These businesses represented €1.012 billion (~$ 1. 18 billion) of the company’s total net sales in 2019, as well as its total earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) worth €133 million (~$ 156.21 million) in 2019. The company would provide the rehashed figures of its materials cluster before its results for the third quarter.
The company stated that the collaboration of Covestro AG and DSM’s resins &amp; functional materials unit would develop the business with advanced scale and technological capabilities, benefitting its consumers and employees.
According to Mercom Capital Group’s Solar Funding and M&amp;A <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/product/1h-q2-2020-solar-funding-ma-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Report</a>, in the first half of 2020, there were a total of 25 solar M&amp;A transactions of which six of them disclosed transaction amount totaling $184 million.

Royal DSM to Sell Solar Coating Business in a  €1.6 Billion Deal

Larsen &amp; Turbo (<a href="https://www.larsentoubro.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">L&amp;T</a>) announced that it divested its electrical and automation (E&amp;A) business to European energy and automation company Schneider Electric.
Schneider Electric will own a 65% stake in the combined business – Schneider Electric India Private Limited (SEIPL) &#8211; and global investment company Temasek will own the rest, according to the company’s press release.
“This all-cash deal will help us create a much stronger balance sheet, thereby creating long-term value opportunities for our stakeholders by focusing on key aspects of the business. The deal was a complex merger and acquisition transaction involving slump sale of the domestic business and share purchase transfer,” said S. N. Subrahmanyan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director, L&amp;T.
The deal was initially announced back in May 2018. With this divestment, Indian will become the third-largest revenue market for Schneider Electric, the company said.
It added that it had appointed Anil Chaudhry as the CEO of Schneider Electric India and the Zone President of India. Chaudhry was previously the Zone President and Managing Director of Schneider Electric India.
The newly formed entity will bring in over 5,000 employees from L&amp;T’s electrical and automation business from its markets in the Middle East, Africa, Indonesia, and Malaysia. They will join over 2,000 of Schneider Electric’s existing employees.
“This newly merged company will serve the priorities of India: Make in India for India and the rest of the world, Digital India, Skill India, Sustainable Energy, Smart Cities and Infrastructure for self-reliance, to bring tremendous value to our customers and stakeholders, employees, partners, suppliers, and community in which the company develops,” said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman &amp; CEO, Schneider Electric.
In July, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/lt-infrastructure-aiib-fund-renewable-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that L&amp;T Infrastructure Finance Company Limited, an Indian non-banking financial company, announced that it received the first $50 million (~₹3.72 billion) of a $100 million (~₹7.43 billion) external commercial borrowing loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to fund renewable lending in India.
Recently, Schneider Electric Solar <a href="https://mercomindia.com/weekly-wrap-up-canadian-solar-freyr-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> the launch of Insight, its new energy management platform for residential and commercial users, as a solution to the COVID-19 crisis, accelerating the needs of digitalization in the renewable energy industry. It is available through their local, cloud, and mobile interfaces. Insight is a part of Schneider Electric’s residential and commercial solar &amp; storage ecosystem, providing intuitive mobile and web-browser based interfaces for consumers and installers.
Image credit: Chmee2 / CC BY-SA (<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Schneider_Electric_factory.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">3.0</a>)

L&T Sells its Electrical and Automation Business to Schneider Electric

<a href="https://buildingenergy.it/media/press/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Building Energy</a>, an Italian renewable company, in partnership with <a href="https://inspiredevolution.co.za/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inspired Evolution</a>, has successfully closed the buy-out of its African and Middle East business and launched Red Rocket, an independent power producer (IPP).
The new joint venture (JV), funded by Inspired Evolution’s Evolution II Fund, plans to re-capitalize and position the company to become a leading emerging renewable energy power producer in the region, according to Red Rocket’s press release.
Inspired Evolution is an Africa-focused investment advisory firm that specializes in developing clean energy infrastructure in the region. The release noted that Evolution II holds the majority of the stakes in the new company, as advised by Inspired Evolution.
The release said that the newly formed company was originally formed in 2012 as Building Energy’s African and Middle East business units. It is headquartered in Cape Town and has a renewable portfolio of 377 MW, including projects that are in operation, under construction, and have been awarded under public and private bids.
It added that the group is also currently developing a portfolio over 2 GW with the wind, solar, hydropower, and biomass projects to bid under future rounds of South Africa’s renewable energy independent power producer procurement program (REIPPP), and other such programs across Africa.
“Backing a commercially-astute professional team with demonstrated bid success to accelerate the deployment of utility-scale clean energy infrastructure in targeted countries across Africa, contributes to our mission,” said Christopher Clarke, Managing Partner at Inspired Evolution.
Last year, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/evolution-fund-clean-energy-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that Inspired Evolution secured a funding of $87.75 million (~₹6.6 billion), reaching a total capital of $216 million (~₹16.25 billion) at the final closing of its Evolution II Fund. The company received funds from CDC Group Plc, Cyane Holdings Ltd, European Investment Bank, KLP Norfund Investments AS, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, and a U.S. healthcare system.
Earlier, Inspired Evolution <a href="https://mercomindia.com/evolution-fund-closes-4-7-million-solar-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">closed</a> a ZAR 100 million ($7.47 million) investment facility by its Evolution II Fund into Commercial Energy SA – an affiliate of SolarAfrica.

Building Energy and Inspired Evolution Launch JV for Renewables in Africa and the Middle East

The <a href="https://www.emamigroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Emami Group</a>, a Kolkata-based conglomerate, has sold its solar power business to Canadian Investment Company, <a href="https://www.brookfield.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brookfield Asset Management</a>, through a 100% stake sale.
While the company confirmed the development to Mercom, it declined to comment on the value of the deal or the capacity of the solar assets sold.
“As part of our divestment plan of non-core business assets, we are happy that we could conclude the deal with Brookfield Asset Management to sell our solar power business – Emami Power,” said a spokesperson for the Emami Group.
The Emami Group’s website says that it currently has 11 MW of solar power projects in Karnataka, 10 MW at Charanka Solar Park, Gujarat, 3.3 MW of solar power project in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, and a 22.5 MW solar power project in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand.
In 2018, the Kolkata bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/emamis-solar-unit-demerges-from-its-cement-business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">approved</a> a request made by the Emami Group to demerge its solar power business (Emami Power) from the cement business (Emami Cement Limited). In a proposal filed at the NCLT, the company expressed that by demerging the solar business, they would be able to strengthen their operations by increasing focus on each business individually.
Previously, <a href="http://www.renesolapower.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ReneSola Ltd</a>, a fully integrated solar project developer and operator, signed an exclusivity agreement with an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management. Under the agreement, ReneSola agreed to negotiate exclusively with Brookfield Asset Management to sell its distributed generation operating solar assets in China. Brookfield Asset Management intended to acquire the project-based special purpose vehicles associated with the 206.8 MW of distributed generation operating assets.
Mercom had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/brookfield-renesola-distributed-solar-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> in 2018 that Globeleq, an independent power producer and developer in Africa, was set to acquire Brookfield Asset Management’s interests in its South African renewable energy portfolio. The agreement was to give Globeleq a majority shareholding in six renewable projects totaling 178 MW, as well as ownership in Brookfield’s South African asset management company.

Emami Group Sells its Solar Segment to Brookfield Asset Management

ReneSola Ltd, a solar module manufacturer, has announced that it has signed a $100 million strategic investment agreement with the Zhongnan Industry, a subsidiary of Zhongnan Holding Group. Both of these companies are headquartered in China.
According to the agreement, Zhongnan Industry will invest $100 million to strengthen ReneSola’s solar module manufacturing supply chain.
Speaking to Mercom, the spokesperson of ReneSola said, “This investment will help ReneSola to strengthen the entire supply chain of PV module manufacturing business in China as well as globally.”
Sky Wang, the CEO of ReneSola, commented on the development, saying, “This strategic partnership with Zhongnan Holding Group will add value to our supply chain and enhance our production capacities while allowing us to focus more on the technological advancement in the solutions we provide to our valuable customers.”
Recently, another Chinese company, <a href="https://en.longi-solar.com/home/index/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LONGi Solar</a>, a manufacturer of high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar cells and modules, announced a framework agreement <a href="https://mercomindia.com/longi-solar-acquire-solar-cell-module-manufacturer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to acquire</a> solar cell and module manufacturer Ningbo Jiangbei Yize New Technology for 1.78 billion yuan (~₹18.11 billion or $252.8 million). The Shanghai Stock Exchange filing stated that LONGi would acquire the Chinese cell and module maker through a 100% acquisition of its equity through cash.
Mercom Capital Group’s recently released  <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/product/q1-2020-solar-funding-ma-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Q1 2020 Solar Funding and M&amp;A Report</a> revealed that the total corporate funding in the solar sector, which includes venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing has plummeted by 31% at $1.9 billion (~₹143.4 billion) in Q1 2020 as compared $2.8 billion (~₹211.35 billion) raised in Q1 of 2019. The total corporate funding stood at $2.7 billion (~₹203.79 billion) in Q4 2019. The report attributed this downturn in funding activity to lower venture capital, and public market financing as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected people and industries across the globe.

ReneSola Signs $100 Million Investment Deal to Ramp Up its Solar Module Manufacturing

<a href="https://en.longi-solar.com/home/index/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LONGi Solar</a>, a Chinese manufacturer of high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar cells and modules, has announced a framework agreement to acquire solar cell and module manufacturer Ningbo Jiangbei Yize New Technology for 1.78 billion yuan (~₹18.11 billion or $252.8 million).
The Shanghai Stock Exchange filing stated that LONGi would acquire the Chinese cell and module maker through a 100% acquisition of its equity through cash.
LONGi Solar is a subsidiary of leading solar technology major LONGi Green Energy Technology Co Ltd (LONGi Group). Ningbo Jiangbei Yize is a China-based solar manufacturer that develops, manufactures, and distributes solar photovoltaic products. It produces photovoltaic battery chips, photovoltaic battery components, polysilicon, and other products.
Ningbo Jiangbei Yize has a PV module manufacturing capacity of 7 GW annually and the capacity to manufacture 3 GW of PV cells. The company operates under the brand names of Vinasolar technology and Vina Cell Technology based out of Vietnam.
In a separate statement, LONGi also announced that it had signed a contract with Atlas Renewable Energy, a U.S.-based solar project developer, to supply 122 MW of Hi-MO4 bifacial modules for one of its solar projects in Chile.
The company also announced that it had supplied 100 MW of its Hi-MO4m monofacial PERC modules to China Datang Corporation’s first floating solar plant in Hunan Province. It said that the project, which is located in the water area of Changhe, Sihushan Town, Yiyang City, is the first floating solar plant in the Hunan Province to integrate ecological and environmental protection with power generation.
Earlier, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/longi-supply-solar-modules-adani-green-by-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that supplier LONGi said it entered into a strategic partnership with Adani Green Energy, the renewable arm of Adani Group, to supply 1.2 GW of its new generation Hi MO4 solar modules by 2020.

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