JSW acquires renewable energy portfolio of Mytrah for ₹10,530 cr

JSW Energy's renewable subsidiary JSW Neo will acquire a portfolio of 1,753 megawatt (MW) of green energy assets from wind and solar power producer Mytrah Energy (India) Pvt. Ltd. for ₹10,530 crore.

The acquisition comprises 17 special purpose vehicles (SPVs) and one ancillary SPV of Mytrah, according to a statement by JSW Energy.

Mytrah's energy portfolio consists of 10 wind SPVs with a generation capacity of 1,331 MW and 7 solar SPVs with a generation capacity of 422 MW, operating primarily in the southern, western and central parts of India.

The assets have a proven operational track record and long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) with an average remaining life of around 18 years, JSW Energy says in an exchange filing.

This is the largest acquisition made by JSW Energy since inception, and will leapfrog the current operational generation capacity by over 35% - from 4,784 MW to 6,537 MW.

With about 2,500 MW of under-construction wind and hydro projects which are likely to be commissioned in phases over the next 18-24 months, JSW Energy's capacity will get enhanced to around 9.1 gigawatt (GW), where the share of renewables rises to around 65%, the power producer says.

The acquisition is likely to help the company in achieving its renewable-led capacity growth target of 10 GW by the financial year 2024-25.

JSW Energy has set an ambitious target for a 50% reduction in its carbon footprint by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 by transitioning towards renewable energy. The company has set a target to reach 20 GW capacity by 2030, with the share of renewable energy increasing to 85%. Around 2.2 GW of renewable energy projects are currently under-construction, wind projects of 1.26 GW are expected to be fully commissioned in the next 12-18 months.

"This landmark deal demonstrates our strong commitment to achieve our vision of achieving 10 GW capacity by 2025 and being a leading player in India’s energy transition. This acquisition further strengthens and diversifies our operating footprint across various key resource rich states. We also believe that by leveraging our strong industry, operating and financing expertise, we would be able to significantly improve the operating performance of this entire portfolio, which will ultimately create tremendous value to our shareholders," says Prashant Jain, joint managing director and CEO of JSW Energy.

The company is also evaluating opportunities to foray into emerging energy businesses of hydro pumped storage, battery energy storage, and green hydrogen among others.

"JSW Energy will continue to look for more such opportunities for value accretive acquisition to aid its already ambitious growth plans for this sector. This provides a fillip to the company's growth aspirations and aligns with our renewable-led growth philosophy. Aside from generation, we also continue to pursue our organic pursuit of storage as well as green hydrogen and its derivatives play," Jain adds.

While definitive agreements have been signed by the two parties, the transaction is subject to approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).