Global trading and investment company Mitsui & Co is acquiring a 49% stake in ReNew Power’s 400 MW round-the-clock (RTC) utility-scale renewable energy project. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

To ensure 400 MW of round-the-clock renewable energy, the project will consist of three newly built wind farms of 900 MW combined capacity and a 400 MW solar project with 100 MWh battery storage. The projects are spread across Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, developed by ReNew Power’s subsidiary, ReNew Surya Roshni. The total cost of the project will be about $1.35 billion.

The three under-construction wind farms, each of 300 MW capacity, are located in Karnataka (two projects) and Maharashtra (one project).

The project will provide Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) with 400 MW of power annually. The project’s commercial operations are expected to start by August 2023.

ReNew Power won the project in SECI’s auction in May 2020 at a tariff of ₹2.90 (~$0.038)/kWh. ReNew has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with SECI. SECI set an annual escalation of 3% on the quoted tariff up to the end of the 15th year of the contract.

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 X 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.”

Mitsui will contribute to the project by using its accumulated knowledge of the electric power business in Japan and other countries to ensure steady progress toward completion and the smooth commencement of commercial operations. Mitsui targets to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and through this acquisition, it plans to address power shortage and decarbonization in India.

While it is difficult for conventional renewable energy projects to commit stable power supply due to the intermittent nature of wind and solar irradiation, this project commits electricity supply of 400 MW on a round-the-clock basis from a portfolio consisting of multiple wind and solar plus battery storage projects.

In August 2021, Mitsui & Co had announced an investment of ₹300 million (~$4.04 million) in Punjab Renewable Energy Systems, an Indian biomass-based energy company.

According to Mercom Captial Group’s Q4 and Annual 2021 Solar Funding and M&A Report, 280 large-scale solar projects amounting to 68 GW were acquired in 2021. The 280 project acquisitions in 2021 were the highest recorded to date.