UK Climate Investments (UKCI) is investing £30m in CleanMax Solar, an Indian renewables developer focused on the commercial and industrial segment.
UKCI’s investment will provide the developer with the capital needed to expand its network of private solar farms across the country.
Founded in Mumbai in 2011, CleanMax Solar is developing distributed photovoltaic generation capacity across some of India’s largest cities by partnering with commercial and industrial (C&I) clients to build rooftop and ground-mounted projects.
C&I energy consumers gain access to clean, cheaper-than-grid electricity by removing the need for significant upfront capital investment.
In 2018 CleanMax Solar became India’s top rooftop installer and one of the country’s largest solar developers in the C&I market segment, operating 500MW of distributed generation capacity across 340 sites.
UKCI managing director Richard Abel said: “CleanMax Solar is helping businesses in one of the world’s fastest growing economies rethink how they produce and consume electricity.
Our partnership represents an exciting opportunity to help take their platform to the next level – underpinning investment in new renewable generation capacity whilst accelerating India’s transition to a low-carbon future.”
CleanMax Solar founder Kuldeep Jain said: “Corporates are quickly adopting renewables sourcing at scale to achieve the twin benefits of profit improvement and carbon footprint reduction.
“We are excited with our aim to enhance our portfolio from 500MW to 2GW in the next three years.”
Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India, said: “This investment showcases how the UK and India are working together to promote mutual prosperity, clean growth and investment.
“This unique partnership marries City of London green finance expertise with the innovation of Indian business to deliver clean energy solutions.”
CleanMax Solar’s operating capacity has grown from 24MW in 2015-16 to more than 500MW in 2018-19, and it expects to expand its customer base from 120 corporate clients to 300 by 2022.
Earlier this year, UKCI announced a £28 million cornerstone investment in a dedicated African renewable energy yieldco, Revego Africa Energy Limited.
In 2018, the investor completed the construction of a 60MW greenfield solar project in Maharashtra in India with Lightsource BP, and partnered with Fortum and Elite Alfred Berg to create India’s first unlisted renewables yieldco for international investors.
UKCI is a joint venture between the Green Investment Group and the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. UKCI is managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.