Japanese investment firm Mitsui & Co will invest in the round-the-clock (RTC) renewable energy project being developed by ReNew Power and pick up a 49% stake in it.
In a statement, ReNew said that the RTC project will consist of three newly built wind farms and one solar plus battery storage farm (1,300 MW in total and 100 MWh battery storage) across the states of Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, and provide 400 MW of electricity to SECI, a state-run entity.
The project’s commercial operations are expected to start in the third quarter of 2023. ReNew, through its affiliates, will also undertake engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), operation and maintenance (O&M), and project management for the RTC project.
The 25-year PPA for the project was signed last year with SECI for supplying electricity at ₹2.90/kWh, which will increase by 3% annually for 15 years after which it will stabilise for the remaining period of the project.
India, being the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally, made commitments at the Glasgow COP26 summit last year to reach 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based installed capacity by 2030, and to source 50% of all its energy from renewables by then. The RTC project will feed into this target and support the Government of
India’s policy of scaling up the renewable energy sector as part of the country’s historic clean energy transition.
Speaking about this partnership with Mitsui, Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power said: “The RTC project, the first of its kind in India, provides the lowest cost and emission-free 24X7 renewable electricity. We are proud to partner with Mitsui, a leading global conglomerate, to support India’s green energy transition and look forward to strengthening this partnership in the future.”
Ryoichiro Uno, General Manager in charge of infrastructure projects in India, the Middle East, and Africa of Mitsui, said, “We view India as an extremely promising market for many reasons, including its high economic growth and strong commitment towards decarbonization. Through this project, Mitsui will accelerate India’s clean energy transition together with ReNew, and contribute to the project‘s successful development by leveraging our extensive global experience in power project development, as well as our wide-ranging business network across industries. ”
Mitsui would look forward to expanding its collaboration with ReNew beyond this RTC project in India, Uno said.
ReNew develops, builds, owns, and operates utility-scale wind and solar energy projects, and hydro projects. As of February 1, 2022, ReNew had a total portfolio of 10.2 GW of renewable energy projects across India, including commissioned and committed projects.