Indian giant ReNew Power secures $1bn loan for gigascale 24/7 wind-solar-battery project

The independent power producer claims its pan-India project will be competitive with the “baseload” power supply of fossil fuel energy providers.

A consortium of 12 international lenders led by Dutch multinational Rabobank has now loaned ReNew Power $1 billion for the RTC project – which ReNew Power claims is the largest project financing in India’s renewables sector.

Earlier this year Japanese conglomerate Mitsui had also bought a 49% stake in the project.

24/7 power

ReNew Power’s RTC project will consist of three 300MW wind farms: one in Maharashtra state and two further south in Karnataka. The northern state of Rajasthan will host a 400MW solar array co-located with a 100MWh battery.

It will sell power to the Indian government’s Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) through a 25-year deal won at auction.

ReNew Power will receive a tariff of INR 2,900/MWh ($36.52/MWh) in the first year of production, with this payment rising by 3% each year, until the 15th year of a 25-year PPA with the utilities. Offtaker SECI previously explained that this means the developer will receive an average tariff of INR 3,590/MWh for the output over the 25-year term.

Hybrid projects combining wind and solar – possibly with battery storage – are set to play a key role in India’s energy transition.

India has held multiple tenders for hybrid projects, which can optimise both land and grid resources. Hybrid projects are also capable of supplying a more stable generation profile due to wind’s higher generation at night and solar’s increased power during the day.

India aims to have 500GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 – most of it wind and solar.