New Delhi, March 17 -- Indian green energy company ReNew Energy Global Plc has raised $95 million (about Rs 878 crore) in fresh capital from marquee offshore investors for its commercial and industrial (C&I) platform after previously tapping several other foreign backers in recent months.
ReNew, which is majority owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), said in a statement private equity firm LeapFrog Investments led the new round with a commitment of $50 million.
The Emerging Market Climate Action Fund (EMCAF, which is managed by Allianz Global Investors GmbH and advised by the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Carlyle AlpInvest chipped in with the remaining amount.
ReNew said the new money will help support the growth of its C&I platform, ReNew Green Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd, as it looks to expand its footprint across sectors including automotive, chemicals, cement, textiles, and technology.
ReNew Green operates one of India's largest clean energy portfolios targeted at C&I clients, with 2.5 GW of committed capacity across multiple states. Over 2.0 GW is already commissioned, including approximately 1.3 GW backed by long-term agreements from global technology companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. An additional 0.2 GW falls outside this transaction.
India's C&I sector accounts for roughly 50% of the country's total electricity consumption and contributes around 920 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually, with projections indicating a rise to about 5 billion tonnes by 2050, according to publicly available estimates. Currently, only about 7% of C&I electricity in India comes from renewables, per Central Electricity Authority data.
"This partnership helps us scale solutions that reduce emissions, strengthen energy security, and support India's industrial growth in a way that is both sustainable and inclusive," said Sumant Sinha, founder, chairman, and CEO of ReNew.
"The C&I industry will be central to India's decarbonization journey, and with investors like LeapFrog, we can deepen our ability to provide reliable, cost-competitive renewable power to leading businesses across sectors."
Nakul Zaveri, global co-lead for climate investment strategy at LeapFrog, said the investment aligns with the firm's climate strategy of backing "high-growth, scalable businesses" that provide cleaner, more resilient energy systems in emerging markets.
"ReNew Green addresses a clear and rapidly growing demand for reliable renewable energy solutions among commercial and industrial customers, underpinned by structural tailwinds and a sustained green discount compared to grid tariffs. We believe this platform can deliver strong commercial performance while driving meaningful emissions reduction and job creation at scale," Zhaveri said.
ReNew's broader clean energy portfolio stood at approximately 19.2 GW, including 1.5 GW of battery energy storage systems. It competes with the likes of Adani Green Energy, Tata Power's green energy arm and GIC-backed Greenko, which also counts ADIA as an investor.
ReNew became the first Indian green energy company to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange after completing a merger with the US-based blank cheque company RMG Acquisition Corp II at an enterprise value of $8 billion.
ReNew has been looking to raise fresh capital in recent months. In February, VCCircle reported that the company was looking to raise up to $50 million in debt financing from the German development bank DEG for a wind-solar hybrid project that its subsidiary ReNew Vyoman Pvt Ltd is setting up in Andhra Pradesh.
This came after ReNew secured $331 million in financing from the Asian Development Bank in November. The same month, ReNew raised $100 million in debt capital from the Beijing-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for the project.
In December 2024, CPPIB, ADIA and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co PJSC (Masdar) moved to delist the company from the Nasdaq and take it private. This announcement came barely days after VCCircle first reported that the company could be taken private in the US and be listed in India, where its operations are based. Then, in October last year, VCCircle reported that the company could rework its IPO plans and that, to begin with, the company might only list its solar manufacturing unit and not its entire business in the country.
In December last year, ReNew's delisting plan collapsed after Masdar pulled out of the consortium that had proposed to take it private.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.