India’s largest renewable energy company, ReNew Power, and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) have signed a partnership agreement to promote increased access to renewable energy and improved energy efficiency.
The strengthened partnership between the two parties – who signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 10th July 2020 in Delhi – focuses on enhancing access to renewable energy and improving energy efficiency as part of the progressive strategies that India has adopted to realize its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.
ReNew Power will partner with UNEP’s District Energy in Cities Initiative as an implementation partner for renewable energy installations across India with the aim of shifting the heating and cooling sector to an energy efficient one. The partnership will also implement solar off-grid projects, studies, and assessments. Joint efforts will be promoted through annual events to showcase contributions to India’s strategic vision on renewable energy.
Renewable sources constitute about 24% of total installed capacity in India. The country had a target of 175 GW of renewables capacity by 2022, and at the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019, the Prime Minister announced an increase in the target to 450 GW.
“At ReNew, we have always believed in going beyond our business and engaging with a wide range of stakeholders on multiple issues impacting various communities across the country,” said Vaishali Nigam Sinha, ReNew Power’s Chief Sustainability Officer.
“Through our association with UNEP, we are looking to work on issues which have the potential to accelerate growth and bring about socio-economic change in the area of environment and clean energy.”
“ReNew Power is a market leader in renewable energy and has demonstrated that clean energy makes ample business sense,” said Atul Bagai, Head of UNEP’s India Office.
“We are proud to associate with them to push the envelope when it comes to clean and viable energy solutions for multiple applications in support of the climate goals and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.”
About the UN Environment Programme
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UN Environment works with governments, the private sector, civil society and with other UN entities and international organizations across the world.
About ReNew
ReNew Power Private Limited is India’s largest renewable energy IPP (Independent Power Producer) in terms of total energy generation capacity. It generates 5.4 GW of energy through solar and wind assets and has another 4.6 GW under various stages of development throughout the country. ReNew develops, builds, owns and operates utility scale wind and solar energy projects as well as distributed solar energy projects that generates power for commercial and industrial customers. ReNew has a strong track record of organic and inorganic growth, having nearly doubled its operational capacity between FY 2015-2018. ReNew’s broad base of equity investors include Goldman Sachs, JERA, ADIA, CPPIB, and GEF SACEF India.
About District Energy in Cities Initiative
District Energy in Cities Initiative aims to support market transformation efforts in order to shift the heating and cooling sector to energy efficient and renewable energy solutions. The initiative supports local and national governments to build local know-how and implement enabling policies to accelerate investment in modern – low-carbon and climate resilient – district energy systems. In parallel, the Initiative is working with cities and industry to identify, assess and tender bankable district energy projects based on international best practice accumulated from 45 champion cities for district energy and 45 partners with decades of expertise in the sector.
