Vector Green Energy Secures ₹11 Billion Loan from IREDA for its Solar Portfolio

The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has disbursed a loan of ~?11 billion (~$146.43 million) to Vector Green Energy, a Mumbai-based independent power producer focused on solar and wind energy.
IREDA said that it is the highest-ever disbursement to a single company in a day. It is also the highest single-day transaction for Vector Green Energy. Vector Green Energy is the Indian green energy platform of Global Infrastructure Partners.
The ?11 billion (~$146.43 million) released of ?13.82 billion (~$183.97 million) will be utilized for Vector Green’s six operational solar projects.
Vector Green has raised the debt under a unique financing structure with attractive terms. The structuring has resulted in the enhancement of its rating from A to AA category. The company’s operating portfolio is now rated either AAA or AA on a non-recourse basis.
Vector Green has a 652 MW portfolio of solar and wind power projects in India. This includes 19 ground-mounted utility-scale projects located across eight states and 89 rooftop solar projects across seven states. According to the company’s website, an additional 90 MW of solar projects are under implementation in Gujarat.
Vector Green had earlier issued non-convertible debentures to raise ?12.37 billion (~$166 million) in the Indian capital market. Credit rating agencies CRISIL and India Ratings have given AAA ratings to the green bond issuance.
IREDA completed the loan process in 45 days.
Pradip Kumar Das, CMD, IREDA, said, “The company is thankful to Vector Green for making IREDA their first choice. The borrower preferred IREDA because of the speed of processing of loan sanctions to disbursement with transparency and the most competitive interest rate. This disbursement is another step in boosting ease of doing business and moving ahead in the mission of 5 times growth in the coming five years for IREDA. The company is grateful to its every business partner for the trust they have placed in IREDA.”
IREDA has provided loans amounting to ?88.27 billion (~$1.17 billion) in FY 2020-21, which is the second-highest in the company’s history. “We are quite confident that IREDA will create a new record in the current financial year by achieving the highest loan disbursement,” Das said.
In September this year, IREDA announced that it would soon float an initial public offering (IPO) of fresh equity shares and issue green bonds in domestic and international markets to mobilize capital for lending.
In May, IREDA invited bids to set up 10 GW of high-efficiency solar module manufacturing capacities. The tender received a strong response from the bidders and was oversubscribed by 5.68 times. The bidders quoted a total capacity of 56.8 GW for polysilicon, ingot-wafer, cell, and module manufacturing.