KKR, a global alternative asset, and private equity investor have agreed to invest $400 million in India's Serentica Renewables, a decarbonization platform focused on offering clean energy solutions to energy-intensive, difficult-to-control sectors.
Serena, a company founded in 2018, focuses on industrial decarbonization in India by delivering round-the-clock clean energy solutions to facilitate the transition of big, energy-intensive companies to clean energy. Among the activities are providing renewable energy solutions through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) and collaborating with consumers to build paths to net-zero electricity.
Serena has established targets to install 5,000 megawatts (MW) of carbon-free generation capacity coupled with storage technologies and to offset 20 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Director of Serentica Renewables, Pratik Agarwal, stated:
This financing will allow us to accelerate our aim of decarbonizing large energy-intensive businesses and contribute to reversing global warming. This acquisition represents one of the most significant industrial decarbonization investments in India to date and advances the global decarbonization agenda that is a focal point of COP27."
India is preparing to invest considerably in the shift to sustainable energy, prompting the statement. Earlier this year, India's government announced a set of climate commitments for 2030, including a pledge to lower carbon intensity by 45 percent and to transition to about 50 percent non-fossil sources of electricity. India's parliament has just passed a bill empowering the government to regulate and mandate the transfer of industry, transportation, and buildings from fossil-based energy to clean and renewable sources.
The deal is also the latest in a series of efforts by KKR to help with the energy transition. In 2020, for example, the company will launch Virescent Infrastructure, a platform that will buy, own, and run renewable assets in India. KKR has also made Aster Renewable Energy, a platform for investing in renewable energy in Asia, and Stellar Renewable Power, a platform for making long-term, high-yield investments in solar energy. Since 2011, KKR has put more than $15 billion worth of equity into renewable assets around the world.
Hardik Shah, Partner at KKR, said:
"Energy-intensive, heavy-industry enterprises play a vital role in society but have historically encountered more difficulties in satisfying energy needs in a sustainable manner. With Serena, we intend to assist these businesses in achieving their decarbonization goals."
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