Finance

Mahindra Group has agreed to sell a 30% equity stake in Mahindra Susten to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for around $300 million. The two parties have also agreed to set up an infrastructure investment trust so Mahindra Susten can strengthen its solar, hybrid energy, and integrated storage businesses, as well as its round-the-clock green energy plants.

Bihar-based Husk Power Systems will use $6 million of newly acquired funds to build solar hybrid microgrids in 80 communities in rural India. The renewables services provider already owns and operates more than 120 microgrids in India.

India is seeing massive investments in PV manufacturing, with manufacturers from Western countries, led by the United States, eager to get in on the act. Chinese companies have yet to make the same call, however.

State-owned electricity distribution companies implementing the Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) scheme may clear dues worth INR 2,000 crore (around $250 million) this fiscal, supporting renewable energy generators to build capacity for growth and reduce leverage. 

Reliance Industries is set to buy 79.4% of US-based SenseHawk, which provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for process optimization, automation, and asset information management across the solar asset lifecycle. The startup has globally deployed its software at more than 600 sites.

A new report by Aspire Circle India estimates the potential of renewable energy and the clean-tech sector according to parameters such as revenue and job creation by 2030, and highlights the top 10 areas for investment.

Reliance Industries says that production will begin at its 10 GW factory for solar cells and modules by 2024. It plans to double the facility’s capacity to 20 GW by 2026 and is aiming for 50 GWh of annual cell-to-pack battery capacity by 2027.

Japanese carmaker Suzuki Motor is investing INR 7,300 crore (around $914 million) to set up the electric vehicle battery plant at Hansalpur in Gujarat. The plant will manufacture advanced-chemistry cell batteries.

The Norwegian Climate Investment Fund, managed by Norfund, and KLP, Norway’s largest pension company, have signed a deal to raise a 49% stake in a 420 MW solar power plant in India developed by Italy’s Enel Green Power. 

ReNew Power, a Nasdaq-listed Indian developer, has secured $1 billion in external commercial borrowings for a 1.3 GW wind-solar energy project, backed by up to 100 MWh of battery storage. The project is co-owned by Japanese investor Mitsui and will supply round-the-clock power under a 25-year power purchase agreement.