The American global investment company KKR has announced the launch of a new platform named Virescent Infrastructure, to acquire renewable energy assets in India. Headed by Sanjay Grewal as Chief Executive Officer, Virescent is headquartered in Mumbai. “We would expand the portfolio by investing in operational renewable energy assets in India,” stated Sanjay. With 30 years of experience in the Indian and global infrastructure sector, Sanjay would be responsible for identifying, planning, and executing investment opportunities for Virescent.

KKR globally has 10,000 MW of renewable energy portfolio. Virescent has 317 megawatt (MW) solar projects in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. KKR was earlier engaged in acquiring green energy producer Mytrah Energy India Pvt. Ltd, but the proposed $750-million deal fell through. Virescent would identify investment opportunities that have stable cash flows from long-term contracts with state and central government counterparties across India. KKR has also entered into definitive agreements to acquire other operating solar projects across three different states. Once closed, these projects will also become part of the Virescent platform. Sanjay, however, did not give further details citing confidentiality clauses in the deals.

KKR has invested globally in renewable energy businesses and has a 10 GW operational capacity. Its other investments in India are in companies such as; Reliance Jio, Reliance Retail, IndiGrid, JB Chemicals, Max Healthcare and Ramky Envirotech.

We would expand the portfolio by investing in operational renewable energy assets in India

“The launch of Virescent is a meaningful milestone for KKR’s Asia Pacific infrastructure strategy amid India’s ambitions to install 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030. We look forward to playing a part in meeting these goals and supporting the government’s Green Energy Corridor initiative through our investment in Virescent,” said Hardik Shah, managing director of KKR’s Infrastructure team. The company said the new platform would deepen KKR’s presence in the Indian market. KKR has been investing in India since 2006. It is engaged in the operations and strategies of its portfolio companies across asset classes, including infrastructure, private equity and credit, to corporations and real estate businesses. “We are thrilled that Virescent will seek to invest in many of these great opportunities, in addition to achieving stable returns by acquiring high-quality, low-risk, and income-yielding assets with stable and long-term cashflows,” stated Sanjay.

Renewable power is estimated to comprise around 60 percent of India’s installed electricity capacity by 2030, from around 24 percent at present. It’s the green economy of India that is attracting a number of investors ranging from private equity funds, pension funds, and strategic players to name a few. Earlier this year, European alternative asset manager EQT and Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. jointly set up O2 Power, a $500-million renewable energy platform in India. Other global investors in India’s clean energy space include Goldman Sachs, Brookfield, SoftBank, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Caisse de dйpфt et placement du Quйbec, JERA Co. Inc., GIC Holdings Pte Ltd, Global Infrastructure Partners, CDC Group Plc, EverSource Capital and the World Bank’s International Finance Corp.