First A credit rating for an Indian solar plant

09 July 2013 

Rajasthan project receives A rating by CRISIL, a division of S&P's McGraw Hill Corp.

U.S.-Indian solar developer Astonfield Renewables has secured the first A class credit rating for a solar plant in India.

Astonfields' plant in Rajasthan, which has been operational since 2011, has had its long term loan facility rated 'A-/stable' by a company in which international ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has a major stake.

Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd. (CRISIL), a division of the McGraw Hill Corporation of which S&P is a major stakeholder, awarded the rating in part thanks to the plant's 25-year PPA with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd.

The rating also cited the 'comfortable financial risk profile, marked by healthy debt protection metrics' of New York and Mumbai headquartered Astonfields.

A lack of affordable finance has frequently been considered one of the biggest hurdles for solar developers to overcome in India.