ReNew seeks support for capital costs, manufacturing in Union Budget

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• ReNew focuses on executing its 13 GW portfolio over adding new capacity
• Company urges Budget measures to cut financing costs and boost local manufacturing
• PLI schemes helped ReNew cut reliance on China and strengthen supply chains.

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ReNew is prioritising execution and integration of its portfolio over fresh capacity additions and is looking to the Union Budget to improve financing and support for domestic manufacturing, co-founder and chairperson (sustainability) Vaishali Nigam Sinha has told Moneycontrol.

In a pre-Budget interaction with Moneycontrol on January 28, Sinha said the Gurugram-based green energy company has around 13 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity and projects on the ground, with an overall pipeline of about 23 GW.

“The focus now is not so much on adding capacity as it is on deployment and execution,” she said, adding clean energy is no longer a “nice-to-do climate initiative” but has become central to several sectors of the economy.

Sinha said demand drivers are increasingly emerging at the sub-national level, with states inviting private sector to set up large industrial parks, data centres and manufacturing hubs. There is a strong economic case for clean energy across sectors, leading to sustained interest from both public and private players, she said.

Her comments mirror the findings of Moneycontrol-Deloitte CXO Survey. The pre-Budget survey found that corporate leaders across sectors are placing greater emphasis on execution, cost discipline and balance-sheet strength amid global uncertainty and uneven demand conditions.

The CXOs also expect policy continuity and targeted interventions, particularly measures that can help lower financing costs, strengthen infrastructure and provide clarity for long-term investment decisions, in the Budget.

Sinha said while capital availability in the clean energy sector remains adequate, the company would look to the Budget for steps to improve the cost of capital and leverage.

She said the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes have helped strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce reliance on imports.

“We realised early on that self-reliance in domestic supply chains was crucial, and the PLI schemes have helped us secure our supply chain,” she said, adding what was earlier described as a “China-plus-one” approach is increasingly being viewed as an “India-plus-one” strategy.

ReNew has been able to reduce dependence on China to a large extent and is now reasonably comfortable, though further policy incentives and PLI support would help deepen and strengthen the supply chain, Sinha said.

The company’s manufacturing business, which is around three years old, is already profitable, an indicator of the effectiveness of India’s policy framework and execution on the ground, she said.

“The supply chain we have built supports not only us but also other stakeholders in India and potentially global markets, particularly as free trade agreements come into play,” she said.