Indian energy major plans GBP 150mn investments in UK market

London- India's Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power, has plans to invest around GBP 150 million over the course of this year in the UK and Ireland market.

The investment, as part of EESL's UK joint venture EnergyPro Assets Limited (EPAL), will be focussed on decentralised energy systems that provide efficient power as well as heating and cooling.

The investment (GBP 150 million) will be on expanding the base for combined heat and power and ancillary services market (Short Term Operating Reserve) projects in the UK and Ireland, financing these projects, and expanding EDINA's base in Australia, EESL said.

EPAL, created as a tie-up between EESL and UK-based advisory company EnergyPro Ltd, recently emerged as the UK's fastest-growing Indian company in the wake of its acquisition of Britain's heat and power firm Edina.

The formation of EPAL is a significant milestone in strengthening the UK-India partnership on climate change and energy transition, said Saurabh Kumar, managing director of EESL.

The strategy was to grow organically and EPAL acquired an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) company in the UK working in clean energy looking at the emerging market for this in India. The acquisition has provided EESL an instrument to scale up the implementation of gas-based generation, cooling and provision of hot water, he said.

EPAL's focus is now on the concept of convergence, to align previously separately viewed sectors such as power, transportation and climate change.

There is an imperative need to take a holistic view of the clean energy transitions in all economies, particularly in India where drivers of energy demand are more profound This is where we can garner key learnings from our international counterparts, the UK being one such example, Kumar explained.

At a Grant Thornton and Confederation of Indian Industry's India Meets Britain Tracker 2020' virtual launch event last month, EPAL had grabbed the dual awards of New Market Entrant and Fastest Growing Company of the Year as a result of its growth spurt in 2019 at a rate of 715 per cent.

It is a testament to our vision of building a world class energy service business that delivers economic, environmental, and social benefits locally. The success of EPAL also marks a significant stride towards achieving India's overall energy transition, aided by the exchange of technology and best practices between India and the UK, added Kumar.

As part of EPAL, UK firm Edina said it plans to utilise its know-how in decentralised power infrastructure and technical innovation to offer smart solutions to meet the rising need for robust green power and cooling alternatives around the world.

As the world moves towards more sustainable and resilient energy solutions, increased global collaboration will help build low carbon economies. The expertise of EPAL and mutual knowledge exchange have enabled Edina to hone its offerings further, said Edina CEO Hugh Richmond.

(PTI)