Future Fund backs Applied Solar Technologies in India

In a new round of funding led by Future Fund, Australia's sovereign wealth fund, Applied Solar Technologies (AST) has raised US$40 million for investment in India's solar power capacity.

The capital raised concludes AST's fourth round of funding, taking its private equity funding to over US$85 million in total.

A number of previous AST private equity investors participated again in the fourth round. These include the International Finance Corp., the World Bank's investment arm, Capricorn Investment Group, and Bessemer Venture Partners.

The new round of funding is geared at the Indian government's target initiative to raise the country's solar power capacity to 100 GW by 2022. With current solar capacity at approximately 3 GW in India, the state estimates the investment capital needed to reach its target at roughly US$100 billion.

The International Finance Corp. led a US$21 million second round of funding in 2010, following an undisclosed investment amount by Bessemer Venture Partners the year before. The third round of funding raised US$24.6 million in 2012.

With around 4,000 sites throughout the country, AST is India's largest distributed solar power company, providing off-grid power to the telecommunications and banking industry sectors.

SunEdison Inc. is another major player in the Indian solar energy market, the firm has plans to invest approximately US$15 billion in India over the next seven years.