ReNew Energy Global

ReNew Energy Global plc is a decarbonisation solutions company  based in India. It is the first Indian renewable energy company to be listed on NASDAQ. ReNew operates more than 140 projects spread across nine states in India. The company provides decarbonisation solutions through a mix of green hydrogen, data-driven solutions, storage, manufacturing, and carbon markets.

Formerly called ReNew Power, the company rebranded itself as ReNew in February 2023.

History
Sumant Sinha started ReNew in 2011 and Goldman Sachs invested that September. In 2023, Goldman Sachs exited the company completely. In 2014, ReNew entered the Indian solar market by commissioning its first distributed solar project. Its first project, a 25.2 MW wind site in Jasdan, Gujarat, was inaugurated by Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat (Now Prime Minister of India). It commissioned India’s largest solar farm (510 MW) in Telangana in 2017. In 2016, it became the first Indian renewable energy company to achieve 1 GW capacity and was also the first company to have 10 GW installed capacity. As of 2023, ReNew has current and planned assets with a capacity of generating more than 13.4 GW of power.

Operations
In 2019, ReNew partnered with Korean company GSE&C in renewable energy, jointly developing the SECI-4 project in Rajasthan. A year later, in 2020, ReNew announced that it would manufacture solar cells and modules in India for 2 GW capacity.

In 2020, ReNew became the first renewable energy company to be named to the World Economic Forum’s Global Lighthouse Network.

In 2022, ReNew helped India avoid 0.5% of its annual carbon emissions and generated 14,263 GWh of clean electricity, enough to power around 4 million Indian households. In the same year, the company signed an agreement to set up a green hydrogen plant in Egypt.

Funding and Listing
The company’s initial investment came from Goldman Sachs in 2011. As of 2023, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) stands as ReNew’s major investor.

In 2016, ReNew became the first renewable energy company to raise rupee-denominated masala bonds.

In 2017, JERA (a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power) became an equity holder to the company. In 2019, It raised $450 million through dollar bonds to retire some of its existing debt. The same year, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) invested $100 million into ReNew via rights issue.

In 2021, ReNew announced that it would go public through its merger with a SPAC called RMG Acquisition Corporation II. The merged company was to be called ReNew Energy Global PLC and listed on NASDAQ. ReNew was listed on the NASDAQ on 24 August 2021 under the symbol ‘RNW’.

In 2023, Norway’s Climate Investment Fund managed by Norfund along with pension fund KLP invested Rs. 900 million in ReNew’s transmission project in Karnataka.

Project locations
ReNew has a portfolio of more than 10,214 megawatts (MW) located in eight states of India.

Philanthropic activities
Renew funded ReNew Centre of Excellence at IIT Delhi which was launched in 2016 to help foster research and technology development of renewable energy in India.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ReNew committed INR 20 crores towards meeting national health exigencies. The money was used to support communities impacted by the lockdown, improve upon health infrastructure, among other things.

The company has funded initiatives that have impacted over a million people including climate education, school electrification, women in energy, and water conservation.

Awards
ReNew is the recipient of awards, including by the Economic Times, 2022, the Stevie International Business Awards (Energy Entrepreneur of the Year and Energy Sector Innovation of the Year in 2019 and Chairman of the Year and Energy Company of the Year in 2020, by VCCircle and S&P Global, the Clean Energy Transition Award at Reuters Responsible Business Awards, 2020, the Forbes India Leadership Award, 2017, among others.