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Beyond C and CmY Consultants announce India green finance partnership with UK Government
London – February 8, 2016 – UK-based finance and sustainability consultancies CmY and Beyond C have partnered with the British High Commission in Delhi to help the Indian Government reach its goal of attracting $300bn in green energy investment by 2022. The project will further solidify the UK’s position as the global leader in green finance, and support the international climate agenda.The UK and Indian governments’ recent joint statement recognises the need for “large scale, low cost, long term finance to deliver India’s renewable energy ambitions.”
recognises the need for “large scale, low cost, long term finance to deliver India’s renewable energy ambitions.” It also acknowledged the role that the City of London could play in leveraging international capital, including through the City’s recently launched Green Finance Initiative. This project will help support investment by showcasing India’s clean energy opportunities to influential UK investors, differentiating renewables from other investments and connecting developers in India with the right investors in London. It will also outline actions that the UK government can take to deploy returnable capital and overcome barriers to investment in green energy.
“This project will further strengthen the well-established working relationship between the UK and Indian governments, and pave the way for UK investors to take advantage of the incredible green energy opportunity in India,” said Charles Yates, MD of CmY Consultants. “By linking finance from London with clean energy developers in India, CmY and the British High Commission will be supporting both countries’ climate change agendas while further cementing the UK’s position as the global hub for green energy finance.”
India’s Minister for New and Renewable Energy launched plans a year ago to provide electricity 24 hours a day for all Indians by 2019, partly from green power. Almost 300m Indians currently lack basic access to electricity. “This project puts UK aid money towards improving the lives of low-income Indians, helping to build renewables and improve access to energy,” said Beyond C Director Jeffrey Beyer. “It also boosts Britain’s green energy industry by opening up opportunities to export technology and expertise, and benefits the City of London by connecting pools of capital with profitable clean energy projects.”
A key part of this assignment is engaging with the City to increase understanding of the investment opportunities in India and to identify policy initiatives to encourage that investment. There will be a conference in London in March this year detailing the investment opportunity and how best to structure an investment in India. Speakers at the conference will include senior representatives of the British and Indian governments, foreign investors in India and advisors with experience structuring successful Indian investments.
To register your interest, please visit www.cleanenergy.london or email info@cleanenergy.london.
British High Commission Delhi sponsoring summit on UK investment in Indian renewable energy industry
London – 14 March 2016 – Leaders from the worlds of finance and renewable energy will gather in London for a summit on India’s $330bn clean energy opportunity.
The Summit on UK Investment in Indian Renewables will take place on the evening of March 17th, from 18:00 to 22:00, at the Institute of Directors on London’s Pall Mall. The event is hosted by Clean Energy Finance India and is supported by the British High Commission Delhi, in partnership with UK-based finance and sustainability consultancies CmY and Beyond C.
The summit is part of a larger initiative to help the Indian Government reach its goal of attracting $330bn in green energy investment by 2022. In 2015, India attracted $10.9bn in renewables investment, and has moved up to third position in Ernst & Young’s widely followed Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index. Ernst & Young also classified India as a “Rising Star”, a growth market showing no signs of slowing down and continuing to offer far-reaching energy investment opportunities.
The summit will help support the need for investment by showcasing India’s clean energy opportunities. It will also connect developers in India with the right investors in London, and detail how best to structure investment in India. A strong line-up of speakers from the UK and India will discuss a range of topics, including ‘Scope for Investment in Renewable Energy Sector in India’, ‘Why choose India – the opportunities and challenges’, ‘Investment in Indian Renewables by UK Listed Vehicles’, and ‘Opportunities and barriers from the eyes of India’s entrepreneurs’. A panel discussion and Q&A will follow the presentations and the evening will conclude with a networking reception.
“Our line-up of speakers and panellists will share their first-hand experiences working at the forefront of clean energy finance,” said Charles Yates, MD of CmY Consultants. “This summit will help illuminate the incredible opportunity for UK investment in India’s burgeoning clean energy sector.”
Beyond C Director Jeffrey Beyer said: “This summit is part of a wider partnership between the British High Commission, CmY Consultants and Beyond C. Our goal is to help boost green energy industries in both India and the UK by opening up opportunities to export technology and expertise. By connecting pools of capital with profitable clean energy projects, both the City of London and India’s clean energy sector will benefit.”
To register to attend the Summit on UK Investment in Indian Renewables, and to see the agenda and full line-up of speakers visit www.cleanenergy.london.
Interview: UK Investors Interested in Tapping Indian Market
By Zac Bentley at zak.bentley@cleanenergypipeline.com on 30/03/2016
UK investors are showing “a lot of interest” in accessing India’s renewable energy market, Jeffrey Beyer, Director at consultancy group Beyond C, told Clean Energy Pipeline.
Alongside fellow consultancy group CmY Consultants, Beyond C is working with the British High Commission in New Delhi to accelerate finance from the UK into the booming Indian renewables industry, and connect investors from the UK with developers in India.
The company is trying to find a way around tricky financing structures for Indian developers and support its government in achieving its 175 GW renewable energy goal by 2022.
“In the Indian market that [target] is quite expensive but debt is quite a bit cheaper in the UK so we're looking to try and find ways to take advantage of that differential in a way that addresses some of the risks that makes debt more expensive in India,” Beyer said.
“There is a lot of interest from the UK in the Indian market. I think it's partly because the goals of the Indian government have been ratcheted up several times. Instead of being it mired in red tape and bureaucracy it's the opposite now. The feed-in tariff is reliable and trustworthy, and is leading to low-cost bidding and an explosion of renewables across the country.”
Project finance in India last year increased by 92.8% to $8.1 billion, according to figures from Clean Energy Pipeline, as India joined China as one of the world’s leading markets.
However, significant barriers still remain to accessing the Indian market and Beyond C’s partnership with the British High Commission is aimed at identifying these issues and finding a way around them.
“Some of the big risks include foreign exchange issues, governance over the interests of minority shareholders in investments and transparency,” Beyer said. Exit routes for investors is also an issue for investors, he added.
Beyer noted that UK Climate Investments, a joint venture between the UK Green Investment Bank and the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), has been working on a solution to the foreign exchange risks as it attempts to make headway into India.
“UK Climate Investments can lend money for up to 25 years and have figured out a way to manage the exchange rate risk in a way that satisfies their investors and price exchange rate risk into their investment without having too penalising a price,” he said. “There is a bit of uncertainty as to whether or not that could be applied to other companies though.”
Meanwhile, Beyer said the City of London’s Green Finance Initiative (GFI) recently completed a trip to India and are said to be “very interested” in growing its programme there. Sir Roger Gifford, Chair of the GFI, told Clean Energy Pipeline two weeks ago that it wants to work with other international financial hubs to extend its impact.
“It shows this type of work is being pursued at many different levels from many organisations,” Beyer said. “There's a lot of interest and demand for this type of work. There are still serious issues that need to be overcome but the reality on the ground in India has changed a lot in the last 12-18 months.
“There's a lot of rules being tightened in India that really aims towards improving their ease of doing business rating. People who have taken a look at India and said 'no thanks' might want to take another look today because things are really changing very quickly and the opportunity is there.”
Jeffrey Beyer, Director at Beyond C, can be reached at jeffrey.beyer@beyond-c.co.uk.
The reporter, Zak Bentley, can be contacted at zak.bentley@cleanenergypipeline.com
Beyond C to present on how to encourage energy efficiency in countries with low energy costs
Beyond C Director Jeffrey Beyer is taking part in a panel discussion and delivering a presentation at a conference on energy efficiency in Kuwait, 2-3 October, 2017.
The two-day event, titled "Energy Efficiency: A Key Driver for Clean Energy Transition", is under the Patronage of the Minister of the Oil and the Minister of the Electricity and Water, Mr. Essam Al Marzooq, and is organised by the EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network in partnership with the Kuwait Society of Engineers and the College of Technological Studies - PAAET.
Mr Beyer will present on innovative strategies to change citizen and corporate behaviour towards energy efficiency, including the role of public private partnerships and finance instruments.
Beyond C to present at EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network conference in Qatar
Beyond C Director Jeffrey Beyer will be presenting key insights from Beyond C’s work with ESCO markets at a major energy efficiency conference in Doha, Qatar on 3-4 May 2017.
The EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network, in partnership with Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), are organising a two day event – "Energy Efficiency: A Key Driver For Clean Energy Transition" – scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar, on May 3-4, 2017.
The aim of the event is to foster partnerships by bringing together high-level stakeholders from the EU (European Union) and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) to discuss energy efficiency and cooling technologies suitable for the region, exchange best practices and lessons learned, and advance collaboration between EU and GCC actors.
Drawing on Beyond C’s extensive work in energy efficiency and innovative finance instruments, Mr Beyer will explain how Super ESCOs could have a major role to play in the region.
Beyond C to participate in Eighth International Bosphorus Summit
Beyond C Director Jeffrey Beyer is taking part in a panel discussion at the 8th Annual International Bosphorus Summit, held in Istanbul 28-29 November, 2017.
The panel will discuss the role that alternative energy has to play in the region’s future. The Oil-exporting countries in the Middle East have recently witnessed increasing budgetary pressures caused by sustained lower oil prices. Much of their economies remain based on the energy sector – led by hydrocarbon resources that are exhaustible – hence economic diversification will be crucial to create jobs and foster inclusive growth.
Mr Beyer will be sitting alongside esteemed panellists from ExxonMobil Qatar, Texas A&M University Qatar and the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI).
The 2017 Summit Them – ‘’Design for Future Knowledge’’ – is aimed at bringing together individuals with a common goal to promote and create mechanisms where science and knowledge can appraise the development of policies for future design. The second day of the Summit will be dedicated to Energy and Sustainability topics.