Cutting through bureaucracy

In the concluding part of the hypothetical case study of three privately financed power projects, Bob Nelson investigates the regulatory hurdles that infrastructure investors must clear before construction can begin

Last month, India Business Law Journal introduced Windways, a fictional power company seeking to invest in India’s emerging infrastructure sector. Windways is considering three prospective investments, collectively known as Project Windstorm: The first is a 240 MW wind farm in a state with a reasonably cooperative electricity board and well-developed regulations. The second is a 12 MW photovoltaic solar power plant combined with a 200 MW gas-fired power station and small wind farm, all located in a “green” special economic zone (SEZ) being developed by an Indo-foreign joint venture.

The company’s third prospective project is a distributed rural electricity scheme using a combination of small-scale wind, solar, and biomass resources.

As Windways moves forward to the difficult task of evaluating the regulatory issues associated with each potential investment, it has benefited immensely from the advice of prominent lawyers and law firms who volunteered their feedback following the discussion of the company’s plight in the February issue of this magazine. Of particular note were comments received from Amit Kumar, Sunando Mukherjee, Varun Sehgal and Shardul Shroff of Amarchand Mangaldas; Upendra Joshi and Rabindra Jhunjhunwala of Khaitan & Co; Anand Desai of DSK Legal; and Snehal Patil of Thelen Reid.

Bob Nelson is a partner at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner. He can be contacted at rlnelson@thelen.com. Bob would like to acknowledge the assistance of the following people in the compilation of this case study: Amit Kumar, Sunando Mukherjee, Varun Sehgal and Shardul Shroff of Amarchand Mangaldas; Upendra Joshi and Rabindra Jhunjhunwala of Khaitan & Co; Anand Desai of DSK Legal; and Snehal Patil of Thelen Reid.