Astonfield

Astonfield, also known as Astonfield Renewables Resources, is an Indian renewable-energy company established in 2005 by Ameet Shah and Sourabh Sen. The company entered the Indian solar market at an early stage, when utility-scale photovoltaic generation was still developing and public policy was beginning to create a framework for large solar projects. Its core business has been the development, ownership, and operation of solar power plants, with India as its principal operating market. The company has been headquartered in Mumbai and has also maintained offices in New Delhi and Kolkata. Astonfield became associated with one of the early projects supported by India's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Its 5 MW photovoltaic plant at Osiyan in Rajasthan was commissioned during the Mission's Migration Phase. That phase included projects that were already sufficiently advanced when the national program was introduced in 2009. The Osiyan project therefore represented an early example of utility-scale solar generation being brought into operation under India's emerging national solar framework. The Rajasthan plant was developed in collaboration with Spanish solar company Grupo T-Solar, following a strategic partnership announced in 2011. T-Solar supplied thin-film photovoltaic modules, while Schneider Electric acted as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor. Debt financing was provided by the State Bank of India and the Export–Import Bank of India. The project helped establish Astonfield's position as an early independent solar developer and demonstrated the combination of international technology, Indian project finance, and domestic infrastructure execution used in the country's expanding solar market. Astonfield's early projects generally ranged from approximately 2 MW to 12 MW. The company subsequently indicated an intention to move toward larger installations of 25 MW or more as India's solar sector matured. In July 2013, CRISIL assigned an A-minus credit rating to loan facilities associated with the 5 MW Osiyan plant. The rating was notable because relatively few Indian solar projects at that stage had received an investment-grade assessment of this level. The company also participated in U.S.–India commercial and policy initiatives. In 2011, the United States Trade and Development Agency awarded Astonfield a grant of $719,985 to support the design and deployment of two solar projects in India. Earlier, in 2010, Astonfield chief operating officer Aparna Doshi was selected for the U.S.–India Business Council's Solar Power Task Force, an initiative intended to encourage solar-sector trade and investment. Astonfield also received the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Achievement Award and the Global Green Award during 2010. Publicly available reference material emphasizes Astonfield's early solar-development activities, project partnerships, financing, and international trade engagement. It does not provide enough current information to establish the company's present ownership, leadership, website, listed status, or operating condition. Those fields are therefore left unspecified rather than inferred.

Astonfield was founded in 2005 by Ameet Shah and Sourabh Sen as an early participant in India's developing solar-power industry. Its business model centered on utility-scale renewable-energy projects rather than consumer solar products. The company sought to develop, finance, own, and operate photovoltaic plants in emerging markets, with India as its principal focus. The company's most significant early project was a 5 MW solar photovoltaic plant at Osiyan in Rajasthan. The project was among those included in the Migration Phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. The Migration Phase was designed to accommodate projects that had already reached an advanced stage before the national solar program was launched in 2009. Astonfield's participation gave it an early association with one of India's first major policy-backed waves of utility-scale solar development. In 2011, Astonfield entered into a strategic partnership with Spanish solar developer Grupo T-Solar. The Osiyan plant used T-Solar thin-film modules, and Schneider Electric served as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor. Financing came through debt from the State Bank of India and the Export–Import Bank of India. The combination of an Indian project developer, an international module provider, a global engineering contractor, and Indian institutional lenders reflected the cross-border structure common to early large solar projects. Astonfield also developed relationships with U.S. trade and investment institutions. In 2010, chief operating officer Aparna Doshi joined the U.S.–India Business Council's Solar Power Task Force, which promoted trade and investment in solar power. During the same year, Astonfield received the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Achievement Award and the Global Green Award at World Trade Week New York. In 2011, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency provided a $719,985 grant for work related to designing and deploying two solar projects in India. During its early development, Astonfield's projects generally had capacities between 2 MW and 12 MW. As the Indian market expanded, the company expressed an intention to pursue projects of at least 25 MW. In July 2013, CRISIL gave an A-minus rating to loan facilities connected with the Osiyan plant. The rating was significant in the context of a young Indian solar-finance market, where lenders and investors were still developing methods for assessing the credit quality of photovoltaic projects. The available reference material does not establish Astonfield's subsequent ownership, management, project portfolio, website, or current operating status. Its documented historical identity is that of an early Indian utility-scale solar developer whose activities connected national renewable-energy policy with international technology, finance, and trade partnerships.

• 2013

  Osiyan project receives A-minus rating

  [1]Astonfielden.wikipedia.org

  CRISIL assigns an A-minus rating to loan facilities for Astonfield's 5 MW Osiyan solar plant.

• 2011

  Partnership with Grupo T-Solar

  [1]Astonfielden.wikipedia.org

  Astonfield forms a strategic partnership with Grupo T-Solar to develop photovoltaic plants in India.

• 2011

  U.S. development grant

  [1]Astonfielden.wikipedia.org

  The U.S. Trade and Development Agency awards Astonfield a $719,985 grant for the design and deployment of two Indian solar projects.

• 2010

  Recognition and industry-policy participation

  [1]Astonfielden.wikipedia.org

  Astonfield receives the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Achievement Award and the Global Green Award, while COO Aparna Doshi joins the U.S.–India Business Council Solar Power Task Force.

• 2009

  India launches the National Solar Mission

  [1]Astonfielden.wikipedia.org

  India introduces the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, creating a national policy framework that later supports Astonfield's early Rajasthan project.

• 2005

  Astonfield is founded

  [1]Astonfielden.wikipedia.org

  Ameet Shah and Sourabh Sen establish Astonfield as a renewable-energy company focused on solar-project development.

Early-mover Indian solar developer focused on utility-scale renewable-energy infrastructure in emerging markets.

• Utility-scale solar power plant

  Osiyan solar photovoltaic plant

  A 5 MW photovoltaic facility at Osiyan in Rajasthan, developed during the early implementation of India's National Solar Mission. The plant used thin-film modules supplied by Grupo T-Solar, with Schneider Electric responsible for engineering, procurement, and construction. Debt financing was provided by the State Bank of India and the Export–Import Bank of India. It was among the early utility-scale solar plants commissioned under the Mission's Migration Phase.

• Renewable-energy infrastructure · 2005

  Utility-scale solar project development

  Astonfield's principal offering was the development of photovoltaic power projects for institutional and utility-scale generation. Its early projects generally ranged from 2 MW to 12 MW, while the company indicated plans to pursue larger facilities of 25 MW or more as India's solar market matured.

• 2010U.S.–India Business Council Solar Power Task Force

  United States · India

  Astonfield COO Aparna Doshi was selected for a U.S.–India Business Council task force intended to promote trade and investment in solar power.

  Outcome. The participation positioned Astonfield within a bilateral industry initiative, although the available source does not quantify a commercial outcome.

  Source
• 2010World Trade Week and green-industry recognition

  United States · India

  Astonfield received the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Achievement Award and the Global Green Award at World Trade Week New York.

  Outcome. The awards provided public recognition for Astonfield's renewable-energy and cross-border business activity.

  Source

• 2013

  Credit enhancement for Osiyan financingOther

  Background

  Early Indian solar projects faced the challenge of establishing bankability and credible credit assessments.

  Action taken

  CRISIL assigned an A-minus rating to loan facilities associated with Astonfield's 5 MW Osiyan plant.

  Aftermath

  The rating marked the plant as one of the early Indian solar facilities to receive an A-level credit assessment.

  Source

• 2011

  Strategic partnership with Grupo T-SolarM&A

  Background

  Astonfield needed technology and development support as India's utility-scale solar market was emerging.

  Action taken

  The company partnered with Spanish solar developer Grupo T-Solar to pursue photovoltaic projects in India, including the Osiyan plant.

  Aftermath

  The partnership brought T-Solar thin-film modules into the Osiyan project and strengthened the project's international development structure.

  Source

• 2011

  Expansion through U.S.-supported project designStrategy

  Background

  Astonfield was seeking to expand solar deployment in India and attract international institutional support.

  Action taken

  The company accepted a $719,985 U.S. Trade and Development Agency grant to assist in designing and deploying two Indian solar projects.

  Aftermath

  The grant supported Astonfield's cross-border project-development activities; the available source does not identify the projects' subsequent completion.

  U.S. Trade and Development Agency grant. $719,985 (2011)

  Source

1. 1Astonfielden.wikipedia.org