Fortum is selling the four solar plants that made up its Indian generation business, together with its two co-owners, to Gentari. Fortum is not leaving India entirely, though. It keeps its electric vehicle charging services and a development portfolio, and says it will make no new commitments there. What it sells, and what it holds back, says a lot about how a utility with a Nordic strategy now ranks its overseas bets.
Key takeaways
- Fortum, UK Climate Investments (UKCI) and Evli Fund Management announced on 3 May 2024 an agreement to sell a 185 MW operating solar portfolio in India to Gentari Renewables India, a subsidiary of Gentari Sdn.
- The deal value was not disclosed; according to sources cited by Enerdatics, the enterprise value could be at least $150 million, or about $0.81 million per MW.
- The sellers held the Indian solar portfolio in three shares: Fortum 43.75 percent, UKCI 40 percent and Evli Fund Management 16.25 percent, and Gentari Renewables India becomes sole owner after the sale.
- The portfolio comprises Pavagada (100 MW, Karnataka), Bhadla (70 MW, Rajasthan), Kapeli (10 MW, Madhya Pradesh) and Amrit (5 MW, Rajasthan), each selling power under a 25-year PPA with SECI, NTPC or NVVN.
- Across eight operating Indian solar asset sales announced between January 2023 and June 2025 with a value recorded by Enerdatics, prices range from $0.33 million to $1.03 million per MW, with a median of about $0.66 million per MW.
Why is Fortum selling its Indian solar plants now?
Because India no longer fits the strategy Fortum is running. The company says it is limiting its exposure in India as part of a Nordic strategy, and that no further commitments will be made in the country. It is evaluating alternatives for the operations it still holds there.
That leaves a short list of what remains. Fortum keeps its EV charging services and a renewable development portfolio with projects at different stages. Its remaining net assets in India, including guarantees, come to roughly $32.1 million. Fortum expects to book some profit on the sale when it closes, which was expected in the second quarter of 2024.
The sale is the second half of an exit that began six years earlier. In 2018 Fortum sold a 54 percent stake in the same 185 MW portfolio to UKCI and Evli for $176.7 million. That deal brought in co-investors. This one lets all three sellers leave together, so Gentari takes the whole portfolio rather than a minority position.
What exactly is Gentari buying?
Four solar plants, two of them large and two small. Pavagada, the 100 MW plant in Karnataka, and Bhadla, the 70 MW plant in Rajasthan, both began operating in 2017. Together they make up 170 of the 185 MW. Kapeli in Madhya Pradesh adds 10 MW from 2014, and Amrit in Rajasthan adds 5 MW from 2013.
Every plant sells its output under a 25-year power purchase agreement with a central government counterparty. Pavagada and Kapeli sell to SECI, the Solar Energy Corporation of India. Bhadla sells to NTPC. Amrit sells to NVVN. A power purchase agreement, or PPA, is a long-term contract fixing who buys a plant's electricity and on what terms, and for Indian utility-scale solar it is the main source of value.
On a capacity-weighted basis the plants have run for 7.27 years and have 17.73 years of contracted life left. That second figure is the one a buyer prices. Gentari is acquiring close to 18 years of contracted revenue from state-backed offtakers, on assets that are past their early operating risks.
How should the $150 million figure be read?
As a floor, and a reported one. The parties did not disclose a price. Enerdatics notes that according to sources the deal could carry an enterprise value of at least $150 million. Across 185 MW that is about $0.81 million per MW, and the true number may be higher.
It is tempting to set that against the 2018 sale. Grossing up the $176.7 million paid for 54 percent gives about $327 million for the whole portfolio, or about $1.77 million per MW. On the face of it, the portfolio would have lost more than half its value in six years.
That comparison needs care. The 2018 figure is a stake price and the 2024 figure is a sourced lower bound on enterprise value, and the two may not measure the same thing. Six years of operation have also shortened the contracts by the same six years. What can be said is that the portfolio is not being sold at anything like the implied 2018 level, unless the final price turns out far above the reported floor.
Enerdatics' data shows eight operating Indian solar asset sales announced between January 2023 and June 2025 with a recorded value. They range from $0.33 million per MW for the 40 MW Balangir project to $1.03 million per MW for Sekura's 49 percent of the RUMS project, grossed up to 100 percent. The median is about $0.66 million per MW, between BluPine's purchase from ACME at $0.65 million and IndiGrid's purchase of a 300 MW ReNew plant at $0.66 million. A price of $0.81 million per MW for Fortum's portfolio would rank second of the nine, behind only the RUMS stake.
What does the deal signal for Indian solar?
It shows a clear division between sellers leaving and buyers consolidating. Fortum is narrowing its focus to a Nordic strategy. Gentari is building scale by buying contracted Indian assets outright. The same pattern runs through the benchmark: IndiGrid, Anzen, Actis and Sekura all bought operating plants with long PPAs.
For those buyers, the plants' age is less important than the contracts. A 2017 plant with a 25-year SECI or NTPC agreement still has most of its contracted life ahead of it. That is why older Indian solar can still command prices near or above the market median, and why the reported floor here sits above it.
The deal also shows how carve-outs work for multinational utilities. Fortum separates the parts of its Indian business that are finished and saleable from those that are not. Operating plants with long contracts find a buyer easily. Development projects and a charging business are harder to price and stay with the seller for now. For comparison, ReNew's sale to IndiGrid shows how the cash a seller banks can be far smaller than a headline enterprise value once project debt is accounted for.
Frequently asked questions
Who is buying Fortum's solar portfolio in India? Gentari Renewables India, a subsidiary of Gentari Sdn, agreed on 3 May 2024 to buy the 185 MW portfolio from Fortum, UKCI and Evli Fund Management and become its sole owner.
How much is Gentari paying for the 185 MW portfolio? The price was not disclosed. According to sources cited by Enerdatics, the enterprise value could be at least $150 million, about $0.81 million per MW.
Is Fortum leaving India completely? No. Fortum keeps its EV charging services and a renewable development portfolio in India, but says it will make no further commitments there and is evaluating alternatives for the remaining operations.
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