Jera, a joint venture between Japan-based energy utilities Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power paid $200m for a 10% stake in India-based renewable power producer ReNew Power yesterday.
Founded in 2011 with $200m of financing from investment bank Goldman Sachs, ReNew develops, builds and operates renewable energy plants. In April 2016 it became the first India-based developer to commission 1 GW of solar and wind projects.
The company currently operates a portfolio of 1.5 GW operational wind farms and solar plants in its home country and has a further 1.8 GW of projects under construction. The deal represents Jera’s first investment in the Indian energy sector.
Yuji Kakimi, President of Jera, said: “As a ReNew Power shareholder, we will seek to contribute to the company by making available technical, operational, project development, and management experience gained through our global power businesses.
“We look forward to strengthening our relationship with ReNew Power and making a positive contribution to India’s economic growth and environmental sustainability by leveraging and augmenting ReNew Power’s success in developing its renewable energy capacity.”
The deal follows $390m in debt financing supplied by multilateral institution and existing shareholder Asian Development Bank (ADB) last month that will be used to expand ReNew’s capacity in six Indian states.
ReNew has now raised $855m in equity funding altogether, having secured $200m from a subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, $50m from Goldman Sachs and $15m from alternative asset manager Global Environment Fund in late 2015.
The funding comes as India continues to grow its renewable energy output, at a time when the lower cost of solar modules makes solar in particular an ever cheaper option.
Renewable sources currently make up about 15% of India’s total installed energy capacity, and a government report in December 2016 predicted that 57% of the country’s power will be generated from renewable sources by 2027.
– Photo courtesy of ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd.