According to two sources familiar with the matter, the discussions have reached an advanced stage, and the loan is expected to be sanctioned soon.
“Lenders are appraising the project to evaluate the risk profile and gain confidence in the concepts of green hydrogen and green ammonia,” one bank source said. “Green hydrogen and green ammonia are new concepts and lenders will get confidence when they balance out the risk.”
Presently, lenders are charging interest rates ranging from 8.5% to 8.75% for loans in the renewable energy sector.
A spokesperson for ACME did not respond to a request for comment.
The project will be implemented in phases, with the initial requirement estimated at ₹4,000 crore. “If a large lender takes the entire exposure, they may subsequently sell a portion of it,” the source said. The loan will be utilised to finance the projects in Tamil Nadu and Oman, with the repayment period aligned with the project’s duration.The Tamil Nadu project encompasses the establishment of a 5,000 MW solar PV plant, a 1.5 GW electrolyzer, and a 1.1 million tonne ammonia synthesis loop. ACME Solar has signed a land agreement to establish the green ammonia and green hydrogen facility in Oman, with plans for a $3.5 billion investment.In an interview with ET earlier this year, Rajat Seksaria, CEO of ACME Group, said that the pre-construction work for the Oman project has already commenced, and full-scale construction of the first project is scheduled to begin by April 2024.
ACME Solar is actively developing projects in Tamil Nadu and Odisha and has secured an agreement in Karnataka as well. The company is currently in the process of acquiring land in Tamil Nadu and aims to commence construction on 2-3 projects by the end of March.
Currently, ACME has solar power projects across 12 states and capex invested and committed at nearly $8 billion. In the past, ACME has undertaken transactions with Actis, Petronas, NIIF, Renew, BAML, Brookfield, Piramal, APG and Allianz, among others. Since 2020, ACME has diversified into green hydrogen and green ammonia. In 2021, ACME commissioned the world’s first green hydrogen and green ammonia plant in Bikaner, Rajasthan, according to the company’s website.
