Reliance Industries acquires Norwegian solar panel entity

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Sunday announced acquisition of REC Solar Holdings for an enterprise value of $771 million from China National Bluestar (Group) Company Limited as it seeks to become net carbon zero by 2035. The purchase of the Norwegian solar panel maker by the conglomerate's Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL) follows the June announcement by RIL - operator of the world's biggest refining complex - that it would invest $10.1 billion in clean energy over three years.

Reliance plans to build solar capacity of at least 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, accounting for over a fifth of India's target of installing 450 GW by the end of this decade. "Together with our other recent investments, Reliance is now ready to set up a global scale integrated Photovoltaic Giga factory and make India a manufacturing hub for lowest cost and highest efficiency solar panels,"  Mukesh Ambani said in the statement. Ambani said his firm would continue to invest and collaborate with global players to provide reliable and affordable power to customers in India and overseas markets. Reliance said it would use REC's technology in its PV Panel making giga factory, with initial annual capacity of 4 GW, eventually rising to 10 GW.

The acquisition would help Reliance grow in key green energy markets globally, including in the United States, Europe, Australia and elsewhere in Asia, it said, adding it would support REC's planned expansions in Singapore, France and the United States. Reliance's green push comes as India raises its renewable energy capacity, currently about 100 GW, to meet about two-fifths of its electricity needs by 2030 under the Paris climate accord.