Indian renewable energy company CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions Private Limited has raised $360 million from Canadian investor Brookfield Renewable. With this, Brookfield Renewable has acquired a controlling stake in the company. This will allow CleanMax to maintain market leadership in the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment, and pursue its plans of becoming a 5 GW platform over the next three to four years.
Founded in 2011, CleanMax has been a front runner in providing green energy to multinational and large corporates, aiding their sustainability efforts and decarbonisation goals. It has helped over 350 corporate consumers adopt renewable energy. It manages a portfolio of over 1.6 GW of operating wind and solar projects and supplies over 3,076 GWh of green energy annually, helping offset about 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 every year.
Brookfield has made an equity investment through a secondary purchase of shares from existing shareholders, and primary capital infusion. It will work with existing shareholders and management to drive the platform’s growth in India’s C&I segment. The investment was made through the Brookfield Global Transition Fund, Brookfield’s impact fund to accelerate net zero transition. The transaction will help deepen Brookfield’s presence in India, where it has deployed billions of dollars. CleanMax can leverage Brookfield’s global relationships, access to capital and operational expertise. Brookfield will now have over 9 GW of diversified assets across wind, solar and hybrid in seven Indian states. This will be Brookfield’s second major renewable deal in India this year, after its $1 billion investment in Avaada Ventures.
CleanMax is expected to continue growing its footprint in the renewable energy segment for C&I consumers, and the latest equity fundraising will serve as a lever. The company is also looking to explore growth avenues in the corporate renewable energy space, and assess and pursue other value creation drivers. Going forward, as Indian corporates increasingly decarbonise and align their operations to support the government’s net zero goals, the company will expand further.
