Lender's independent engineering on Indian solar projects
SgurrEnergy · Projects in Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan
The situation
Banks and financial institutions financing solar plants asked for an independent technical review before lending.
Background
A lender cannot judge a plant's design and construction on its own. A Lender's Independent Engineer (LIE) reviews them and reports the technical risks so that the lender can decide.
What was tested, and how that method works
SgurrEnergy's project pages list lender's technical advisory work with the scope "Lenders Independent Engineer" during financing and bankability.
An LIE reviews design, equipment, contracts, construction progress and test results, walks the site and reports risks and gaps. The review can repeat at construction milestones and at commissioning.
Our service: Engineering, due diligence and LIE →What was found
- Examples listed include a 25 MW plant at Mithapur, Gujarat, for SBI Caps, and a 20 MW plant in Punjab in 2014.
- A 5 MW plant in Rajasthan is also listed, dated 2014.
How it unfolded
Outcome
The pages describe the scope, not findings or results.
Lessons for a plant owner
- LIE work happens at the financing stage. It tells a lender whether a plant is technically sound.
- The same review is useful to buyers and owners facing refinancing.
- Independent tests on site give an LIE opinion more weight than documents alone.
Questions to ask about your own plant
- Are our design, construction and test records complete and in order?
- What would a lender flag first about our plant?
- Do we have commissioning test reports on file?
How we would approach a similar site
We would review design, construction records and test data, and give the lender a clear independent opinion.
Project listings only. Technical findings are not published. Source: SgurrEnergy project pages. Summarised in our own words.