Japanese conglomerate Mitsui has agreed to take a 49% stake in ReNew Power’s round-the-clock renewable power project, the Indian firm said on Wednesday. ReNew signed a 400 MW Round-The-Clock (RTC) PPA last year to supply electricity to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). For the 400 MW PPA (Power Purchase Agreement), the company will install 1,300 MW of renewable energy capacity and up to 100 MWh of battery storage.
“ReNew Power has finalised a partnership with Mitsui & Co Ltd, a leading global general trading and investment firm.
“The partnership will see Mitsui invest in the RTC renewable energy project being developed by ReNew,” the company said in a statement.
It did not give the financial details about the deal.
The RTC project will consist of three newly-built wind farms and one solar plus battery storage farm (1,300 MW in total plus up to 100 MWh battery storage) across the states of Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, and provide 400 MW of electricity to SECI, an Indian central government-owned entity.
The project’s commercial operations are expected to start in the third calendar quarter of 2023.
ReNew, through its affiliates, will also undertake EPC, O&M, and project management for the RTC project.
“The 25-year PPA for the project, the first-of-its-kind renewable energy PPA in India, was signed last year with SECI for supplying electricity at ₹2.90 per kWh (or unit), which will increase by 3% annually for 15 years after which it will stabilise for the remaining period of the project,” the statement said.
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’s policy of scaling up the renewable energy sector as part of the country’s historic clean energy transition.
“The RTC project, the first of its kind in India, provides the lowest cost and emission-free 24×7 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,” Sumant Sinha, founder, chairman and CEO of ReNew Power said.
Ryoichiro Uno, General Manager in charge of infrastructure projects in India, the Middle East, and Africa of Mitsui, said, “Our mission is to build brighter futures for people around the world through infrastructure development”.
“We view India as an extremely promising market for many reasons, including its high economic growth and strong commitment towards decarbonisation. 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,” Ryoichiro Uno said.
ReNew develops, builds, owns, and operates utility-scale wind and solar energy projects, and hydro projects.
As of February 1, 2022, it had a total portfolio of 10.2 GW of renewable energy projects across India, including commissioned and committed projects.
