Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), on Sunday said it has acquired 100 percent of REC Solar Holdings from China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd., for an enterprise value of $771 million.
The Norway headquartered 25-year-old REC, which has regional hubs in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia-Pacific, is a pioneer in the field of solar. It specialises in life long-life solar cells and panels for clean and affordable solar power. It has three manufacturing facilities—two in Norway for making solar grade polysilicon and one in Singapore making photovoltaic cells and modules.
REC has over 600 utility and design patents, of which 446 are granted and balance are under evaluation. The acquisition of REC will help Reliance with a ready global platform and the opportunity to expand and grow in key green energy markets globally, including in the US, Europe, Australia and elsewhere in Asia.
Speaking about the acquisition, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, said: “I am immensely pleased with our acquisition of REC because it will help Reliance tap the unlimited and year-long power of Soorya Dev, the Sun God, that India is fortunate to be blessed with. It is in line with our strategy of investing in new and advanced technologies and operating capabilities aimed at achieving Reliance’s goal of enabling 100 GW clean and green energy before the end of this decade. This will constitute the largest contribution by a single company to Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s target for India to produce 450 GW renewable energy by 2030. It will enable India to become a world leader in the green energy transition to overcome the climate crisis.”
“We will continue to invest, build and collaborate with global players to achieve the highest reliability, efficiency and economies to deliver high quality, reliable power at affordable prices to our customers both in India and markets worldwide,” he said, adding that it would help create millions of green employment opportunities in a decentralised manner in rural and urban areas.
REC’s Alpha and Alpha Pure range of solar modules are recognised as among industry leaders in efficiency, reliability and long guaranteed life, the RNESL release said.
REC has more than 1,300 employees globally. Reliance will strongly support REC’s planned expansions including 2-3 GW cells and module capacity in Singapore, brand new 2 GW cells and module unit in France and another 1 GW modules plant in the US.
In India, Reliance plans to use this industry-leading technology in their fully integrated, metallic silicon to PV Panel manufacturing Giga factory at Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex, Jamnagar initially starting with 4 GW per annum capacity and eventually growing to 10 GW per annum. Reliance’s deep expertise of scale, project execution and operational excellence coupled with REC’s technology will facilitate the establishment of state-of-the-art next-generation fully integrated PV manufacturing facility at Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex and subsequently replicate such complexes around the world.
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(Edited by : Santosh Nair)
First Published: IST
