CleanMax Solar, India’s largest provider of renewable energy for corporates has raised Rs 275 crore in equity funding from UK Climate Investments LLP (UKCI). This is the third marquee institutional investor to support the company’s growth ambitions, having secured equity financing up to Rs 700 crore from affiliate of Warburg Pincus and the International Finance Corporation in 2017.
CleanMax is a market leader in both rooftop solar and open access solar for the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment, with a cumulative India market share of 17% in rooftop and 9% in open access solar, respectively, as of March 2018.
UKCI’s investment will support CleanMax Solar as it expands its renewable energy portfolio – facilitating renewable energy buying for corporates through the construction of a network of private solar farms across India. CleanMax Solar already counts many leading corporates among its clients, including Adobe India, United Breweries, Volvo India, Tata Motors, TVS Group, ACC, SKF, Mahindra Group and others.
UKCI is a joint venture between the Green Investment Group and the UK Government’s Department for business, energy and industrial strategy. The fund is managed by the world’s largest infrastructure manager, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, and aims to help the world’s developing economies tackle climate change and promote cleaner, greener growth. UBS Securities India was the sole financial advisor to CleanMax on this transaction.
Kuldeep Jain, founder and MD of CleanMax Solar elaborated, “Corporates are quickly adopting renewables sourcing at scale to achieve the twin benefits of profit improvement and carbon footprint reduction. This investment, along with the knowhow of Macquarie will enable CleanMax to continue being the market leader in B2B solar sector. We are excited with our aim to enhance our portfolio from 500MW to 2000MW in the next 3 years.”
Richard Abel, MD of UK Climate Investments, 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.”
British High Commissioner to India, Sir Dominic Asquith 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. The UK and India are at the cutting edge of finance and technology, jointly tackling global challenges like climate change and creating market opportunities for the rest of the world.”
CleanMax Solar’s operating capacity has grown from 24MWp in 2015-16 to more than 500MWp in 2018-19, and the company expects to expand its customer base from 120 corporates to 300 corporates by 2022.
