In 2016, Azure Power became the first Indian renewable energy company to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), plus one of the first to explore the international equity capital market generally.
Indian American entrepreneur Inderpreet Wadhwa started Azure Inc in the United States in 2007, and the company expanded to India the following year.
The company’s initial venture was a solar power plant in Punjab with a capacity of 2 MW that would be connected to the grid. The company was an early adopter of solar energy in India, and it played a pivotal role in the National Solar Mission’s pioneering grid-connected solar energy project tenders.
This firm stood out because it handled every aspect of the solar power plant life cycle in-house, from initial concept to decommissioning. As a result, solar tariff was reduced in the bids.
The company has been supported over the years by major financial institutions from around the world. CDPQ, OMERS Infrastructure, and also the International Finance Corporation, Proparco, and also the Netherlands Development Finance Company are all examples of such funds & organizations.
As per the company site, Azure Power has a renewable energy asset base with more than 2.9 Gw of operational capacity & 4.5 Gw of capacity under construction.
Azure said in a public statement that it would be postponing the release of its Form 20-F annual report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022.
Azure’s declaration said that it already accepted a whistle-blower complaint alleging “potential procedural irregularities & misconduct by certain employees” at the plant belonging to one of its subsidiaries.
“As part of the company’s review of these allegations, it discovered deviations from safety and quality norms, and it has implemented mechanisms to remediate them and, in doing so, strengthen safety and quality protocols,” read this statement.
As per the exchange filing, Philadelphia-based litigation company Barrack, Rodos & Bacine has begun an inquiry against Azure for probable violations of Federal securities statutes.
In a press conference on Monday, the company said: “The board believes Azure’s underlying business remains fundamentally strong. The company continues to operate in line with its budgets and business plans. Cash flow and collections from customers continue in the ordinary course. The company continues to service all its debt payment obligations, and Azure’s liquidity position remains strong, bolstered by its recent $250-million rights issue.”
