US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs or promotion of fossil fuels are unlikely to impact the renewable energy sector or Gentari’s business plans as enabling policies in Asian countries and the need for society to transition remain intact, the CEO of Gentari said.
“Irrespective of politics that is impacting the whole world…, we need to remain focused on transitioning towards net zero,” said Sushil Purohit, CEO of Gentari, the green energy arm of Malaysia’s state-run fossil fuel firm Petronas. “That’s the fundamental premise.”
The political and policy changes in the US haven’t changed his views or business plan, he said.
In India, Gentari has a renewable energy portfolio of about 6 GW, including 2.3 GW of operating assets. “We are not working in the United States. We are working in Asia Pacific and there is a tremendous amount of support in Asia Pacific for making the transition happen,” Purohit said.
Gentari’s projects are developing well in India and other countries, he said, adding that he doesn’t see “that funding is a big challenge at this point of time”. Purohit said Gentari has the “full support” from Petronas.
He didn’t comment on reports about Petronas planning to sell a stake in Gentari. He said there is no plan to take Gentari’s India unit public. Gentari will, however, continue to evaluate partnerships at the project level.
The cost of capital has, however, risen over the last few years, he said, adding that interest rates rose significantly to tame inflation in several countries but are now beginning to reduce.
Purohit said his firm is selective about the projects it picks up and good projects are continuing to get funding.
“We are not here to bid for every project. We will bid only what we can build,” he said, adding that projects must have offtakers in case of green hydrogen, and power purchase agreements for renewable power.
