Project detail - Fourth Partner Energy AssetCo

Who is our prospective customer?

Fourth Partner Energy Limited (FPE) was founded in 2010 and is one of the leading renewable energy developers in India focusing on the Corporate and Industrial (C&I) segment of the market, with approximately 1,200 MWp of installed capacity under management, of which 635 MWp is operational. The company also provides hybrid energy, storage solutions, and EV charging solutions to C&I companies. The current key shareholders in FPE are The TPG Rise Fund, and Norfund.

What is our funding objective?

The objective of FMO’s (up to) USD 74 mln equivalent local currency Senior Loan (provided in Indian Rupees) is to fund Restricted Group (RG) of 602 MWp portfolio of distributed generation assets, comprising of ~419 MWp of on-site solar (RTS) plants and ~183 MWp off-site, ground-mounted solar and wind-solar hybrid power plants under the Open Access (OA) model, supplying power to C&I clients across India through long term PPAs. IFC is the mandated lead arranger for the debt tranche, alongside FMO and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Why do we want to fund this investment?

While India’s domestic credit market is maturing rapidly, there remains a need for long-term and efficient financing to support infrastructure assets in emerging renewable energy segments, such as C&I. To bridge this gap, FMO is eager to participate in this efficient financing structure of up to 16 years. Moreover, throughout 2022 and 2023, monetary policy has tightened and there is increasing uncertainty around continued economic slowdown. The proposed debt facility will enable FPE to efficiently support a portfolio of mainly operational assets and better align debt financing to their ambitions of continued growth in India’s C&I segment.

What is the Environmental and Social categorization rationale?

E&S Category is B+. The project will be managed according to the following IFC Performance Standards (PS): PS 1 (Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts); PS2 (Labour and Working Conditions); PS3 (Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention); PS4 (Community, Health, Safety and Security). The project does not trigger IFC PS5 as there will be no permanent physical and economic displacement of people given that land acquisition for the OA sites follows the Willing Seller – Willing Buyer Basis (WSWB) as per FPE’s land acquisition policy. Furthermore, FPE has robust construction and operation phase management programs/procedures and Environmental and Social Management Systems (ESMS) in place. The ESMS and related policies undergo periodic review to reflect the findings of the site specific ESIA, ESAP and related studies. Lastly FPE has a strong ESG/E&S capacity both at corporate and site level. Reference is made to IFC’s (ex-ante) Disclosure and Project Summary Documents, this can be found on IFC’s website (please copy the link and open it in a new tab: https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/SII/46362/fp-energy-pf)