UK's BII to acquire 10 pc in ReNew Solar unit for Rs 870 crore

British International Investment (BII) has agreed to invest ₹870 crore, or about $100 million, for a 10% stake in ReNew Energy Global's solar manufacturing unit, the Nasdaq-listed firm said in a statement.

The investment by the UK development finance institution will go into ReNew Photovoltaics Private Ltd, a four-year-old company that houses fully operational 6.4 GW solar PV module facilities and a 2.5 GW solar cell facility in India. This would be BII's first investment in solar manufacturing in India. "BII's investment will be primarily utilised to construct a new 4 GW TOPCon cell facility in Dholera, Gujarat and to grow the business," ReNew said, adding that the expansion will create 2000 jobs.

"Venturing into manufacturing was a strategic decision aimed at securing our supply chain," said Sumant Sinha, founder, chairman & CEO, ReNew. "Beyond ensuring supply stability, our goal was to partner with a like-minded, long-term partner in the manufacturing sector."

ReNew began looking for an equity partner for its solar manufacturing business last year to generate resources for expansion and cut debt. It also weighed going public after some solar panel manufacturers such as Premier Energies had a roaring listing on Indian bourses but eventually opted for a private market fundraise.

In December, major shareholders of Renew Energy Global Plc offered to buy out other shareholders of the company in a move that would pave the way for the firm's delisting from Nasdaq. ReNew's shares are down about 30% since listing in 2021. This year, Trump's tariffs have created immense uncertainties for solar panel exporters to the US.

"ReNew Photovoltaics' facilities will primarily serve ReNew's internal consumption, with surplus capacity targeted for third-party sales," the company said in the statement announcing the BII deal. So far, the facilities have supplied 900 MW to third parties and have additional orders of about 1.5 GW from multiple customers including NTPC and Shakti Pumps."This investment... will diversify the supply of panels and further build the strong partnership between the UK and India on clean energy," said Sally Taylor, minister counsellor, climate, science and tech, British High Commission.