Mumbai: Alfanar Group, a major energy company based in Saudi Arabia with an annual revenue of Rs 620 crore, is preparing to enter India’s burgeoning green hydrogen sector. The company is currently awaiting greater clarity on India’s policy and regulatory framework for this emerging energy source, according to Mohammed Irfan, chief executive officer of Alfanar Global Development – India, reports The ETEnergyWorld.
Alfanar currently has 506.5 megawatts (MW) of operational wind power capacity in Gujarat, with an additional 50 MW under construction.
“We are preparing to enter the hydrogen segment once India’s policy framework becomes clearer,” Irfan said. “Leveraging our international experience, particularly from projects in Egypt and Chile, we aim to replicate those successful models in India.”
However, Irfan noted that despite growing interest, India still lacks assured agreements for purchasing green hydrogen.
“Once India’s hydrogen market matures in terms of regulatory and policy adaptation or guaranteed purchase agreements emerge, we will definitely be a part of it,” Irfan stated. He contrasted this with India’s renewable energy sector, which benefits from long-term power purchase agreements with entities like NTPC and SECI.
Irfan also mentioned that Alfanar’s Saudi team is actively developing green hydrogen projects in Egypt and green ammonia projects in Chile.
The company is strategically positioning itself as a key player in the global shift towards renewable energy, with a portfolio of approximately 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy projects across Spain, India, and Egypt. “In Spain, we operate both wind and solar projects. In Egypt, we have a solar project, and in India, we have about 600 MW of wind projects operational,” Irfan detailed.
Alfanar is also working on a project to develop sustainable aviation fuel in the United Kingdom.
Addressing the challenge of connecting to the power grid, Irfan pointed out that power evacuation and grid connectivity at central transmission unit (CTU)/Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) substations are already limited. This is because many independent power producers and land brokers have already secured access through land purchases and bank guarantees for substations planned for commissioning up to 2030. As a result, the earliest available connection that can currently be applied for at the CTU level is for the year 2031.
