ReNew to invest ₹22,000 cr for 2.8 GW hybrid RE project in Andhra Pradesh

The 2.8 GW project including 1.8 gigawatt of solar, 1 GW wind, and a battery energy storage system (BESS) of 2 gigawatt hour (GWh) will be set up in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district.

Nara Lokesh, the minister for information technology, electronics & communications, real-time governance and human resources development of Andhra Pradesh, laid the foundation stone for the project during the day in the presence of Sumant Sinha, founder, chairman, and CEO of ReNew.

In the project’s first phase, ReNew will set up 587 Megawatt-peak (MWp) solar and 250 Megawatt (MW) wind energy capacity, along with a 415 Megawatt hour (MWh) BESS, for which power purchase agreements (PPAs) have already been signed. The rest of the capacity will be developed in subsequent phases.

“With a large BESS to be installed, the project will be able to supply power for up to 4 peak hours every day (non-RE generating hours), which will help the off-takers with peak demand management and enable renewable energy to be more firm and dispatchable,” the statement said, adding that the project will be made up of solar panels manufactured in ReNew’s manufacturing units in Jaipur, Rajasthan, and Dholera, Gujarat.

Aiding India’s 2030 clean energy goal

“This project is directly aligned with Andhra Pradesh’s Integrated Clean Energy Policy and contributes to India’s 500 GW non-fossil fuel goal by 2030,” the minister said.

Sinha said that Andhra Pradesh presents an attractive mix of investor-friendly policies, excellent transmission connectivity, and abundant availability of solar and wind resources.

“We are highly optimistic about developing large-scale renewable energy capacity in the state to contribute to the hon’ble prime minister’s commitment of achieving the target of 500 GW non-fossil fuel electricity generation capacity by the year 2030,” Sinha added.

ReNew has a portfolio of 717 MW of operational wind capacity and 60 MW of solar capacity spread over 10 sites in Andhra Pradesh.

As of 14 February, its gross clean energy portfolio stood at 17.4 GW.

Earlier this month, it received an investment of $100 million from British International Investment (BII) for its solar module and cell manufacturing subsidiary ReNew Photovoltaics Ltd, valuing the unit at $1 billion.