Mergers and acquisitions in the renewable energy sector in Asia Pacific has grown 22 per cent in 2014 to $6 billion, driven by JSW Energy’s $1.6-billion acquisition of Jaypee Group’s hydro power assets along with other deals in China and Australia.

JSW Energy’s acquisition was in fact the second largest renewable energy deal globally, according to global accounting and consulting firm PwC’s research.

However, PwC’s consultants expect M&A activity to become muted for the short term in India renewable energy sector with momentum shifting towards fresh investments. “In the renewable energy sector in India, investors are largely inclined towards project or platform level investments so the M&A activity will take some time to build,” Kameswara Rao, partner and Leader Power Utilities and Mining, PwC India said.

“Instead, given the large opportunity of 160 GW in this asset class, we expect strong inward investment from global utilities and funds who will partner with local players to develop renewable portfolio,” he added. Globally, M&A activity in the renewable energy sector has hit a new high for the decade with the value of deals reaching $243.1 billion in 2014, a growth of 70 per cent year-on-year.

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