By Business India Editorial

Singaporean utilities firm Sembcorp Industries has sold its entire shareholding in Sembcorp Energy India (SEIL), its coal-based power generation arm in the country, to Tanweer Infrastructure. 

The transaction value is Rs11,700 crore ($1.47 billion) for an asset base of 2.7 gigawatt (Gw).

Tanweer Infrastructure is indirectly owned by a consortium led by private equity investment firm Oman Investment Corporation S.A.O.C. (OIC) in partnership with the Ministry of Defence Pension Fund, which is one of Oman’s largest pension funds, and Dar Investment SPC.

In a public statement, Sembcorp said that post the sale, 51 per cent of its energy capacity will be renewable energy, up from 43 per cent. “Sembcorp will have an energy portfolio of 14.0 Gw, with 7.1 Gw of renewable energy capacity comprising solar, wind and energy storage globally. On a pro forma basis, Sembcorp’s share of net profit from its sustainable solutions portfolio for the first half of 2022 will increase to 31 per cent,” it said.

Kalat Al Bulooshi, CEO of OIC, on behalf of Tanweer Infrastructure, said: “We are committed to delivering power to our customers on a continuous and efficient basis and to work with our team of committed employees at the plant, our stakeholders such as the power distribution customers and the local community, to achieve their objectives. Availability of power to households and industries is of vital importance in today’s world of energy uncertainties.”

Last year, Sembcorp had announced halving its GHG emissions by 2030 and being a net carbon zero company by 2050. By 2025, the company said, its renewable energy portfolio was targeted to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 per cent and its integrated urban solutions portfolio a CAGR of 10 per cent.

By 2025, Sembcorp aims to quadruple its gross installed renewable energy capacity to 10 Gw. In 2020, its gross installed renewable energy capacity (comprising wind, solar, and energy storage) was 2.6 Gw, according to its announcement last year.

Sembcorp said the sale of SEIL would bring about a reduction of Sembcorp’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity to 0.32 tCO2e/MWh (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt hour) from 0.51 tCO2e/MWh.

“Sembcorp would have achieved its 2025 target of reducing its GHG emissions intensity to 0.40 tCO2e/MWh ahead of time. The company’s absolute GHG emissions will also reduce from 26.2 million tCO2e to 10.4 million tCO2e,” said the company.

Sembcorp has a power generation portfolio of 16.6 Gw, with 7.1 Gw of renewable energy capacity comprising solar, wind, and energy storage globally.