Global Investor BlueOrchard to Invest in Indian Renewable Energy Firm U-Solar

An infrastructure fund managed by Zurich-based BlueOrchard Finance Ltd is investing in Indian renewable energy platform U-Solar to support the growth of its commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftop solar portfolio.

BlueOrchard is a leading global impact investment manager and member of the Schroders Group.

U-Solar, headquartered in Bengaluru, is present in the entire solar PV renewable energy value chain: planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of rooftop and ground-mounted solar PV power plants. U-Solar has completed over 100 solar projects with a capacity of more than 130 MWp till date.

An official statement by BlueOrchard confirms  that U-Solar has recently been awarded its first large-scale project and has been appointed as the concessionaire to design, build, and operate a 20 MW floating solar plant in Karnataka, India.

Prabaljit Sarkar, Investment Director Infrastructure, BlueOrchard, said, “U-Solar thus fits perfectly into our strategy of building infrastructure in a sustainable way in the markets that need it most. We are confident that with its strong management team, consisting of industry experts with extensive experience in implementing solar power projects in India, the company will achieve its growth objectives and we look forward to supporting them on their path”, said.

BlueOrchard said that India has a growing number of private companies (C&I segment) that are voluntarily choosing to achieve net zero energy consumption by 2050. In recent years, a growing consensus has emerged among them that one of the most promising ways to achieve this goal is to switch to renewable energy. U-Solar is looking to take advantage of this opportunity.

KR Harinarayan, Managing Director at U-Solar, said that the funding provided by BlueOrchard will finance the implementation of commercial and industrial rooftop solar portfolio of U-Solar.

“We are working with marquee clients in the C&I space with whom our strategy is to grow their solar energy consumption towards the net-zero or RE100 goals. It is our strongly held belief that distributed energy is the first step every corporate should take in their clean energy journey. With the team’s proven track record and capabilities, we have already crossed 250+ projects for 170 MW and are are confident of achieving 500 MWp of installations by 2027,” added Harinarayan.

The BlueOrchard funding indicates just how attractive the Indian market is for long term investors, especially with the perceived opening up of opportunities in the C&I sector.  U Solar joins a string of Indian developers who are targeting the C&I market in India and abroad with foreign investors joining the ride.