Hindustan Powerprojects Pvt Ltd, formerly known as Moser Baer Projects Pvt. Ltd, backed by Blackstone Group LP, has planned to sell shares in its solar unit to double its investment in photovoltaic projects to $2 billion by 2016.

The solar unit has a pipeline of projects that will require $1 billion of investment within the next two years. Blackstone has invested $300 million in Moser Baer Projects in August 2010 and holds about 36 per cent stake in the company.

The company already has the capacity to allow a listing with 350MW of photovoltaic projects running. Goldman Sachs Group Inc, UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group AG have been appointed managers to the initial public offering.

India, which had no solar power three years ago, plans to attract $11.7 billion of investment by 2017 to reduce costly fuel imports.

According to Ratul Puri, chairman, Hindustan Powerprojects Pvt. Ltd, solar projects in India will become increasingly compelling energy source because it will reduce transmission and distribution cost by generating power close to where it can be consumed.


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