Largest single project financing facility in India to power its first round-the-clock renewable energy programme

Developed by ReNew, one of the largest independent renewable energy power producers in India and the world, the project is also owned by Mitsui & Co, one of Japan's leading general trading and investment firms, with a 49% stake. Spanning three Indian states, the project consists of three wind farms and one solar farm with battery storage to provide 400 MW electricity on RTC basis to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a central government-owned entity. The 5-year term loan of c. US$1 billion secured for its development marks the largest project finance facility for a single renewable energy project in India.

Unlike traditional programmes, which rely on sufficient sunlight or wind, this project, the first of its kind in the country, addresses intermittency issues. Recognising the potential of the RTC approach which uses a mix of renewables, Project Finance International (PFI) and the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA) awarded this transaction the 2022 Asia Pacific Green Deal of the Year and the Renewable Deal of the Year, respectively.

India’s high economic growth, and therefore rising power demand for electricity, coupled with the government’s decarbonisation ambitions, makes it one of the most attractive investment destinations for renewables among emerging markets. Being the fourth largest renewable energy producing country in the world, India has committed at the COP26 summit that clean energy sources will provide half of its electricity by 2030. This RTC project feeds into this target.

The transaction, for which Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Joint Mandated Lead Arranger and Hedging Bank, is a milestone project financing in the renewable energy sector in India, and puts us in a strong position to further strengthen commercial relationships with various active sponsors in the clean power field in the country.