NLC India Approves ₹1,630 Crore Investment in Its RE Arm

NLC India Ltd's board has granted in-principle approval to invest up to ₹1,630.89 crore, in one or more tranches, in its subsidiary, NLC India Renewables Limited (NIRL), it stated in a regulatory filing. This will be contingent upon necessary clearances from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and other authorities. The funds will be utilized to support green energy projects undertaken by the group, the company added.

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The company board also approved the borrowing of a term loan equivalent to USD 100 million in Japanese yen (JPY) from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) through the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) route. It clarified that the proceeds from the loan will be used to finance capital expenditure for renewable energy projects executed through NLC’s subsidiaries and group companies.

NLC has established NIRL as a wholly-owned subsidiary for the development of renewable projects in the country, with the company currently having an installed renewable energy generation capacity of 1,431 MW.

Prasanna Kumar, Chairman & Managing Director of NLC India, said that the group's projected capital expenditure stands at ₹1.16 lakh crore. Of this, the debt-to-equity ratio is 70:30 for thermal power projects and 80:20 for renewables, putting the overall equity requirement at around ₹23,000 crore. The company anticipates capacity increases with the commissioning of the remaining Ghatampur thermal units and 1 GW of solar capacity this year, followed by an annual addition of 1.5 GW.