- $47 million follow-on investment in Fourth Partner Energy to build 294 megawatts (MW) of greenfield renewable power generation
- $42 million committed to Thar Surya 1 Private Limited (an Indian subsidiary of Enel S.p.A., Italy), to support development of a 300 megawatts (MW) greenfield solar project in India
- The investments from British International Investment (“BII”), will support India’s clean energy transition and renewables power capacity goals
We’ve announced a total commitment of US $89 million to scale clean energy capacity in India.
Our investment is comprised of an INR 3.5 billion (US $47 million) follow on commitment to Fourth Partner Energy, and an INR 3.15 billion (US $42 million) project finance debt investment to Thar Surya 1 Private Limited – an Indian subsidiary of Enel S.p.A, Italy (Enel). Both investments will target expansion of renewable power in India and help accelerate the country’s energy transition over the long term.
BII’s US $47 million follow-on commitment to Fourth Partner Energy, a leading renewable energy company for commercial and industrial (C&I) businesses, will fund approximately 294 MW of greenfield renewable generation capacity across India, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam. The added capacity will increase supply of power to company’s C&I customers and help avoid nearly 400, 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. This latest funding brings BII’s total commitment to Fourth Partner Energy to US $80 million – with an investment goal of promoting clean energy alternatives to coal, across South and Southeast Asia.
BII’s US $42 million debt investment to Thar Surya 1 Private Limited, forms part of an estimated US $200 million total project that aims to fund the development, construction, and maintenance of a 300 MW solar project in India. The project is designed to displace thermal generation in the grid, abate 697,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, and meet the equivalent demand of 151,000 consumers in the country. The addition of clean energy to the grid will help meet India’s heightened energy demand, boost access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy, while also increasing productivity for businesses and consumers across the country.
Under its new five-year strategy, BII has set a target for 30 per cent of its new investments to be in climate finance, with a strong emphasis on investing in clean and renewable infrastructure. The DFI’s new strategy is driven by its mission to help address some of the urgent challenges posed by climate change, including decarbonising the energy mix, build green energy capacity and helping catalyse growth of the renewable sector in the countries in which it invests.
Commenting on the investments, Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia, at BII, said: “Investing to bolster India renewable energy is a critical strategic step toward ensuring the country’s growth ambitions align with its goals to achieve a net-zero carbon future. BII’s investments in Fourth Partner Energy and the Thar Solar PV project is a continuation of more than 30 years’ experience of investing in India, and its objective to help tackling the climate emergency while meeting India’s increased demand and consumption of energy.”
“As such, these two investments demonstrate our commitment to leverage our partnerships and expertise in the energy sector, to help deploy clean renewable energy at scale and support India’s green growth. We are pleased to put into action BII’s pledge to commit $1 billion in climate finance to India over the next five years. Channelling the best of British finance, BII is thrilled to help expand economic productivity, promote inclusive access to clean energy, and facilitate sustainable growth in India for the long-term.”
Speaking about this second tranche of funds, Vivek Subramanian, Co-founder & ED at Fourth Partner Energy, said: “This reaffirmation from CDC (BII) will help cement our company’s leadership position in the C&I solar segment and is reflective of our aggressive expansion plans of a 3 GW portfolio of RE assets across geographies by 2025. We believe our corporate customers can benefit from diversified clean energy solutions like onsite and offsite, wind-solar hybrid, energy storage and electric mobility solutions. We are leveraging these opportunities to accelerate the green energy goals of C&I customers by partnering with leading strategic ESG financiers like CDC.”
Key clean infrastructure investments in India made by British International Investment (under CDC Group) over the last strategy period include, a US $30 million pioneering directed green lending facility to Tata Cleantech Capital to enhances water and energy efficiency, and reduces greenhouse gas emission in India; in addition to a $10 million investment in Roserve to support wastewater treatment and increase water efficiency in India. BII also founded Ayana Renewable Power in 2018, and has committed US $230 million to date, helping to mobilise further capital to accelerate green energy capacity for India’s long-term economic development.
Media Contacts:
British International Investment:
Toyosi Adebayo | press@cdcgroup.com | press@bii.co.uk
