Lightsource BP’s Indian Platform, EverSource Capital, leads $330 million investment round in India’s Ayana Renewable Power

Lightsource BP today announced that its Indian investment joint venture, EverSource Capital, is partnering with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund of India (NIIF) and CDC Group plc to invest a total of $330 million in Ayana Renewable Power.

The EverSource Capital contribution will be supplied from its flagship Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), launched in 2018 with a £240m cornerstone investment from NIIF and the UK government. The Fund strategy focuses on large scale green energy and sustainable infrastructure platforms in India.

Ayana was launched to develop utility scale solar and other renewable energy projects across growth states in India. It is currently constructing 500MW of solar generation capacity with a strong future pipeline of renewable energy opportunities. With a management team that has a track record of successful execution of renewable energy projects, now partnering with major new capital partners bringing relevant industrial and local India expertise, Ayana is well placed to play an important role in India’s ambition to build 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022.

By mid-2020, India is forecast to surpass China as the world’s largest energy growth market, accounting for over a quarter of the growth in global energy demand supported by robust economic development[1]. There is broad political, regulatory and economic recognition that this growth will be led by renewable power projects, huge electrification and decarbonisation of the economy, and a clear focus on resource and energy efficiency.  Ayana, and other EverSource Capital investment platforms to follow, will follow these macro trends and build market-leading professionally managed companies that can support significant incremental institutional capital investment.

James Brooks, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Lightsource BP and Managing Partner, EverSource Capital, says, “We are excited about our new partnership with Ayana, CDC and NIIF. It is the first investment by our joint venture EverSource Capital and is representative of the future of sustainability investments: viable, commercially attractive, sustainable and scalable. Ayana’s highly credible partners and management team possess the necessary world-class expertise, capital backing and relationships to build a market-leading renewable power platform for India.”

Dev Sanyal, CEO, BP Alternative Energy, says, “BP’s Energy Outlook estimates renewable energy in India growing from around 3% in 2017 to at least 16% by 2040 and, potentially, to as much as 33% under different scenarios. This is driven largely by growth in solar capacity. We are delighted that this transaction marks a new chapter in this fast-growing sector. The scale and ambition for India’s renewable energy sector will need to be enabled by sound investments in infrastructure and generation capacity. This project sets the benchmark for renewable investments in India”.

Dhanpal Jhaveri, Managing Partner, Everstone Group, and CEO, EverSource Capital, says, “This partnership brings together likeminded, climate focused, experienced partners. EverSource Capital is a JV between Everstone Capital, which has an extensive track record of scaling up world-class businesses in India and Lightsource BP, which has a deep global understanding of the renewable energy market. We’re excited to provide strategic and operational value to Ayana, and to be building a high quality, rapidly scalable utility grade renewable energy business.”

[1] Source: BP 2019 Energy Outlook report