Japan’s Mitsui to buy 49% in ReNew Power’s round-the-clock project

Japanese investor Mitsui will acquire a 49% stake in the round-the-clock (RTC) renewable energy project being developed by ReNew Power, India’s leading renewable energy company. The two companies signed the partnership agreement recently. 

ReNew will build a 1.3GW hybrid renewable energy capacity supplemented with up to 100MWh of battery storage to provide 400MW of round-the-clock power to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) under a 25-year power purchase agreement. 

The project will consist of three newly built wind farms and one solar plus battery storage farm across the states of Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. It is expected to start commercial operations in the July-August-September quarter of 2023.

ReNew, through its affiliates, will also undertake engineering, procurement, construction, operation and maintenance, and project management for the RTC project.

Under the 25-year PPA, the project will supply electricity in the first year at a tariff of INR 2.90/kWh (3.8 US cents). The tariff will increase by 3% per year for the first 15 years of the 25-year power supply deal secured by ReNew before becoming a fixed payment for the remaining period of the project. 

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 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.”

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 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. We look forward to expanding Mitsui’s further collaboration with ReNew beyond this RTC project in India.”