Rich May: News
July 2009
Rich May Client Astonfield Renewable Resources Ltd. Partners
with French Company AREVA Renewable to Develop Renewable Energy Project
Rich May client Astonfield Renewable Resources Limited (Astonfield) has
signed an agreement with French company AREVA Renewable (AREVA) to
co-develop 100 MW of biomass power plants across India. These projects
will cost an estimated 635 crore rupees, or $131 million, and
Astonfield hopes it will spur increased levels of investment in the
biomass sector in India and create hundreds of new jobs.
Under the terms of the agreement, AREVA’s bioenergy unit in Chennai
will be responsible for plant design, construction and commissioning.
The group will also co-invest in these projects alongside Astonfield.
This is part of AREVA’s long-term strategy to broaden CO2 – free power
generation by creating a rich portfolio of renewable energy
technologies, providing engineering services, co-investment and
financing solutions. It will also offer its customers assistance in
getting the most out of carbon credits through a variety of methods,
including offering the opportunity to buy back voluntary carbon credits
generated by the project. AREVA hopes to expand its worldwide renewable
energy business throughout India and South East Asia.
This agreement enables Astonfield to focus its leading project
development organization and capabilities on continuing to build its
project pipeline and delivering “shovel ready” projects complete with
power purchase agreements, project financing, land and permits.
Astonfield will also contribute its combined 100 years of experience in
building power plants in the Indian landscape. “The time has come to
prove the scalability of the biomass sector in India and make it a
meaningful and profitable contributor to rural development,” said Ameet
Shah, Co-Chairman of Astonfield. “Through our strategic partnership,
Astonfield and Areva will demonstrate the commercial and technical
model that the biomass sector needs to become a vibrant and productive
part of the next stage of growth of the country’s energy
infrastructure.”
“The Astonfield commitment to world class renewable energy projects
means that we must bring the world’s best technology players to the
table,” agreed Sourabh Sen, Co-Chairman of Astonfield. “AREVA is the
reference in its field, and we look forward to continuing this
relationship through this and many future successful biomass projects
in India.” Astonfield and AREVA will begin construction on their first
project together, a 10 MW project based in Gangarampur, West Bengal, in
the fourth quarter of 2009.
About Astonfield Renewable Resources Limited
A member of the Astonfield Group of Companies, Astonfield Renewable
Resources Limited (Astonfield) aspires to satisfy the growing energy
needs of rapidly developing regions such as the Indian Subcontinent,
Middle East and Africa through a foundation of clean, locally sourced
and readily available energy. Astonfield is the only pure play,
multi-modality renewable energy company focused on the Indian
Subcontinent with proven technology solutions for solar, biomass and
municipal solid waste-to-energy based power.
To-date Astonfield has a multi-modality pipeline of over 600MWs in
development. Solar PV projects make up more than half of this pipeline,
with 228MWs of MOU/allocations and clarity on an additional 250MWs of
contracts. Astonfield has secured government support to build, own and
operate renewable energy power plants totaling 338MW of capacity. For
more on Astonfield, visit http://www.astonfield.com.
About AREVA Renewable
All over the world, AREVA Renewable (AREVA) provides its customers with
solutions for carbon-free power generation and electricity
transmission. With its knowledge and expertise in these fields, the
group has a leading role to play in meeting the world’s energy needs.
Ranked first in the global nuclear power industry, AREVA’s unique
integrated offering covers every stage of the fuel cycle, reactor
design and construction, and related services. In addition, the group
is developing a portfolio of operations in renewable energies. AREVA is
a world leader in electricity transmission and distribution and offers
its customers a complete range of solutions for greater grid stability
and energy efficiency.
Sustainable development is a core component of AREVA’s industrial
strategy. Its 75,000 employees work every day to make AREVA a
responsible industrial player that is helping to supply ever cleaner,
safer and more economical energy to the greatest number of people. For
more on AREVA, visit www.areva.com.
About Rich May
Rich May, a law firm founded in 1937 and located in the heart of
Boston’s financial district, concentrates its practice on corporate,
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For more information, visit www.richmaylaw.com.
