Private equity firm KKR will invest $400 million in Serentica Renewables to ramp up its clean energy portfolio and provide energy transition solutions to industries.

Serentica Renewables has recently entered into three long-term power purchase agreements and is developing 1.5 GW of solar and wind power projects across various states, including Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra.

The company’s medium-term goal includes the installation of 5 GW of carbon-free generation capacity with storage technologies, supplying over 16 billion units of clean energy annually and displacing 20 million tons of CO2 emissions.

Serentica Renewables is wholly owned by Twinstar Overseas, which also has controlling stakes in Sterlite Power Transmission and Sterlite Technologies.

“We are happy to have a like-minded strategic partner in KKR who believes in our model of sustainable development. The world is undergoing a clean energy transition, and India is at the forefront of this effort with its ambitious target of 450 GW by 2030. This investment will allow us to leap ahead in our vision of decarbonizing large energy-intensive industries and help reverse climate change,” Pratik Agarwal, Director of Serentica Renewables, said.

“This transaction is amongst the largest industrial decarbonization investments in India to date and carries forward the global decarbonization agenda, which is center stage at COP27,” he added.

Since 2011, KKR has deployed over $15 billion in equity globally to invest in renewable assets with an operational power generation capacity of 23 GW as of December 31, 2021.

Established in 2022, Serentica’s launch builds on the favorable macroeconomic incentive behind India’s power and renewables sectors and the government’s commitment to advance the country’s energy transition.

The company aims to supply round-the-clock clean energy solutions enabling the transition of large-scale, energy-intensive industries to clean energy. The company is focused on industrial decarbonization by making renewables the primary energy source for the commercial & industrial segment, which consumes more than 50% of the electricity generated in India.

In September, KKR signed definitive agreements with the Hero Group to jointly invest $450 million in Hero Future Energies, the renewable energy arm of the Hero Group.

According to Mercom’s 9M and Q3 2022 Solar Funding and M&A Report, the total corporate funding, including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing, for the solar sector in the first nine months (9M) 2022 stood at $18.7 billion.