UAE’s Abraaj partners with Engie for Indian wind power projects

UAE-based investment firm Abraaj Group has announced a partnership with French multinational Engie to pursue wind power projects in India.

The two have identified more than 1GW of wind power projects in several states, with the aim of addressing growing clean and conventional energy demand in the country, according to the announcement.

Power consumption in India is expected to grow 9 per cent a year to 2020 and the government has targeted 60GW of wind power capacity by 2022.

This will require a near doubling of the 32GW of installed capacity.

The two firms said government initiatives including the recently announced National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to support long-term investments created an investment opportunity for the private sector.

“The Indian renewables sector has seen strong growth in recent times and we expect demand for power across the country will continue to increase,” said Abraaj partner Saad Zaman.

“In line with our commitment to addressing the Sustainable Development Goals, our partnership with ENGIE marks Abraaj’s second investment in the clean energy sector in India.”

Abraaj partnered with Aditya Birla Group in 2015 to build a 1GW solar energy platform in India.

The firm also acquired a majority stake in Jhimpir Power, a 50 MW wind power project in the Jhimpir wind corridor in Southeast Pakistan, earlier this year.

Read: UAE’s Abraaj to acquire stake in Pakistan wind power firm