What is ReNew Power all about?
Did you know that as you are sitting and reading, using the internet you’re already contributing to global warming? Yes, because the machines that run to keep the electricity for your Internet going, 24/7, all around the year, are actually running on fossil fuels that are getting exhausted and is also releasing harmful gases into the environment. At this rate of global warming and exhaustion of fossil fuels, there is fear as to what the future of the world is going to be.
ReNew Power is here to solve exactly these pressing issues that the world in now facing, particularly in India. ReNew power relies on the inexhaustible energy sources which are cleaner and much safer from the environmental point of view. The company focuses on Solar and Wind energy and provided electricity through these means over other toxic, non-renewable conventional means of fossil fuels. It develops, builds and undertakes electricity generation projects for commercial and industrial purposes through Solar power and wind energy.
How ReNew power came into existence?
ReNew power was established in the year 2011 by the eminent mastermind Sumant Sinha. Growing from then it bas become the largest and most significant impact creating renewable energy company in India. They have an inhouse building and development team that has been providing electricity for various purposes since inception through Solar and Wind.
As the world is moving towards renewable sources of energy, ReNew power is an earmarked company in the government’s initiative to take the nation towards a more sustainable future. The very first company to be able to produce a 1 GW power which has been growing exponentially ever since.
About the founder:
Sumant Sinha, the energetic, enthusiastic, entrepreneur behind India’s biggest renewable company was born and bought in Delhi, he was born to an accomplished family of a mother who was a renowned author of children’s books and a father who through his hard work held positions like Minister of Finance and Minister of External affairs.
He got his Bachelor’s degree from Indian Institute of technology, Delhi followed by a master’s in the Indian Institute of management, Calcutta. With a work experience of two yeans with the Tata group of industries, he went on to pursue Masters in International Finance from the Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
He continued to work in New York for 10 years with Citicorp securities, came back to India to Join the Aditya Birla group. After which he joined Suzlon a wind-energy company, helping them through financial crisis and then quitting from there to start a financial services consultancy firm. Ant then finally establishing ReNew power in the year 2011.
Valuation and Investment:
The company has a current valuation of $US 2 billion. It is funded by JERA, Goldman Sachs, Abu Dhabi Investment authority, Asian Development Bank, Canada Pension Plan Investment board and Global Environment Fund. This is one of the very few companies to have received such high investment in the renewable energy field from India.
Journey so far:
Sumant Sinha realised that there is a great opportunity and untapped potential in the renewable energy sector in India after his short stint with the renewable energy company and decided to set foot in the same direction. He set up a team to start ReNew Power, a company that started generating power through solar and wind energy at a speed which no one thought was possible.
In Sumant Sinha’s own words, he says very clearly that the renewable energy sector is not just to provide an alternative energy source and help contribute towards fixing the climate change issue, but sees the company as a frontier in creating jobs thereby helping the ecological growth of the country. We at Inventiva believe that this is a really fresh perspective to have for an Independent Power Producer Company. It is definitely a wonderful step to see that both ecology and economy are going hand in hand to solve the pressing issues being faced by the nation.
Obstacles faced and Overcome:
The first major obstacle or challenge was that this was not an e-commerce company, while it is quite easy to find funding when a startup is based on e-commerce as you can see that most companies that are top funded are all e-commerce companies. It is never easy to receive the same kind of limelight, Yet Sumanth Sinha was able to raise the right amount of funding as the right time without jeopardizing the company’s finances.
Next is the issues related to land acquisition to set up the solar and wind power plants, the government permissions in for the same and also the easy of displacement if need be. Selecting clients who understand all these anomalies was another minor challenge that they had the company ad to keep an eye on.
Despite all these issues ReNew power is strongly continuing to build and nurture the renewable energy ecosystem. The company has received much praise and a lot of awards because of the impact it is making on the society. Like being a part of the research team named champions of change that assists Narendra Modi in taking decisions of ecological conservation.
Future plans and expansion
The first large scale project along with the government was in Sheopur of Madhya Pradesh, followed by Rajgarh, Ashoknagar and then Telengana state covering cities like Mebubnagar, Medak, Dichipally, Mipur etc, Andhra Pradesh state and Karnataka state too. The expansion is happening in 4x speed. There are discussions with projects in Germany and other countries, where expansion of ReNew power is being discussed.
Impact on the society
In 8 years of its operation, ReNew projects have generated almost 40,000 jobs, directly and indirectly.Not only that but is also now supplying up to 7 MW of energy al throughout the country especially to rural areas where the availability of electricity is not always a convenience. It has majorly impacted the environment by reducing 1% of the carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
