Swiss investment firm Partners Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Sunsure Energy, a Gurugram-headquartered renewable energy and decarbonisation solutions platform, for $400 million.
Founded in 2015, Sunsure has developed and installed solar power plants for industrial customers across 16 Indian states. The Sunsure founding team includes Shashank Sharma, Shantanu Faugaat, Manish Mehta, Kartikeya N. Sharma, and Tarunveer Singh.
Sunsure will be transformed into an independent power producer that will build and own utility-scale solar, wind, solar-wind hybrid, and battery storage renewable energy projects, the Swiss investment firm said in a statement.
The platform is targeting over 3 GW of operational capacity and will be focused on selling power directly to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). It also plans to help customers meet decarbonisation and energy cost reduction targets by providing additional value-added services, such as energy-as-a-service and carbon credit management, to its clients.
“We intend to help companies operating in India meet decarbonization goals and assist in the country’s overall energy transition. Through this investment, we will support Sunsure in executing its pipeline of renewable projects and assist them in offering new services to C&I customers,” said Luv Parikh, managing director of private infrastructure Asia, Partners Group.
India is the third largest electricity market in the world, with C&I customers consuming over 50% of the power generated in the country, per the statement. This consumption is expected to continue rising in line with India’s real GDP growth. The vast majority of this power demand today is sourced from non-renewable sources.
“We believe Sunsure’s transition into an independent power producer is the best way to ensure more businesses benefit from low-cost solar and wind power in the future. Partners Group’s extensive experience in the renewables and decarbonization sectors across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, as well as its financial resources, make the firm an ideal partner for the Sunsure platform,” said Shashank Sharma, founder and CEO, Sunsure Energy.
Partners Group’s private infrastructure business has $21 billion in assets under management and has made over 130 investments in 18 countries globally.