Liberty’s Sanjeev Gupta eyes renewable energy assets in India

Sanjeev Gupta, founder of the international commodities, steel and advanced engineering business Liberty House Group, is now looking for renewable energy assets in India. The businessman has 26 meetings lined up on his visit to Mumbai this week.

Gupta was popularly known as a frontrunner to buy one of Tata Steel’s struggling steel plants in the UK before the company opted to explore a merger with as European multinational industrial corporation. Gupta was keen to recycle steel instead of making it fresh in blast furnaces.

Gupta, through Liberty’s sister company Simec Group, is interested in midsize solar projects and is exploring a tidal waves energy project with the government of Gujarat.

Tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of the tides into electricity or other useful forms of energy. Energy produced though this process is seen more predictable than wind and solar energy.

In an interview, Gupta said that they are examining opportunities and are very interested in power, adding that renewable energy is at the top of their objectives.

The first feasibility studies will be conducted in the Gulf of Khambhat under an MoU that Simec’s partly-owned firm Tidal Lagoon Power is expected to establish with the Gujarat government.

“Gujarat has high tidal ranges. We are interested in pursuing that. We are in discussions with the Indian government. That would be a large project if it makes progress,” said Gupta.

Tenax Energy, Atlantis Resources and Pelamis Wave Power are some of the big companies in ocean energy globally.

Simec bought a sizeable stake in Tidal Lagoon Power in February as part of its strategy to create multi-billion pound renewable energy capacity worldwide.