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Renewable energy giant SunEdison, which filed for protection from creditors in the US in late April, is close to an agreement with domestic wind energy major Sitec RE to sell a 24 MW wind¬power plant in Andhra Pradesh . This is the first asset sale by SunEdison in India since the bankruptcy threat arose.

"The details are being worked out and the deal will probably be closed in a week or ten days," said CD Singh, chief operating officer at Sitec RE, confirming the deal. While Singh was unwilling to discuss the details, a person close to the matter revealed the location and size of the plant being sold. Financial terms weren't available. SunEdison Asia¬Pacific President Pashupathy Gopalan didn't respond to phone calls, text messages and an email.

The project has room for another 50MW and is likely to be expanded by Sitec RE, said the person who spoke to ET. SunEdison had begun searching for buyers or investors in its Indian projects even before the bankruptcy crisis , brought on mainly because of its ambitious growth efforts through debt¬funded acquisitions. Apart from this Andhra Pradesh plant, SunEdison owns wind assets of another 101.6 MW, which it acquired in May 2015 from Spanish renewable energy player Fersa Energia Renovables for $39.2 million. This consists of three wind farms, of capacities 31.2 MW, 50.4 MW and 20 MW, the first two in Rajasthan and the third in Karnataka. The bulk of SunEdison's India portfolio is solar. It has 410 MW of commissioned solar power and another 1,000 MW under construction across several states. The company has been trying to find buyers or investors for its solar projects, too, but without success so far. Talks have been held with ReNew Power, Adani Green Energy and other leading developers.

Source: Economic Times