US’ change in climate change policy won’t affect India’s energy transition journey: ReNew’s Sumant Sinha

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Gurugram-based ReNew is pegging its growth on India’s energy transition journey, as the company prepares to delist from Nasdaq.

ReNew, among the biggest renewable energy firms in India, has formed a special committee to evaluate an offer to take the company private. The deal values ReNew at $2.82 billion, wherein primary shareholders Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, UAE-based Masdar, ReNew Chairman Sumant Sinha and a unit of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have offered to buy shares at $7.07 each.

When asked what prompted the consortium to offer such a deal, ReNew’s founder, chairman and CEO Sumant Sinha said it is a strategic move to focus on “where the action lies”. “If anything at all, I see India’s position in the clean energy sector becoming more robust going forward,” he said in an interview to Moneycontrol.

“In fact, even before Trump came in as the President (of the United States), since about two to three years, the cleantech sector in the US had not been trading very well. Now with Trump becoming the President, there is all the more downward pressure on cleantech stocks. I think it's an uncertain future for a lot of (cleantech) companies in the US now,” Sinha said.

“Now keep in mind that none of this impacts us as a company, because our entire business is in India. But it's just that when the whole sector gets impacted, then we were also getting impacted,” he added.

Also Read: MC Exclusive | Trump order casts a shadow on Indian solar panel manufacturers' US plans.

However, Sinha refused to comment on how soon is the delisting from Nasdaq expected for ReNew.

He said the setback from COP29 and the US looking away from climate change agreements are unlikely to hinder India’s energy transition journey. “This is because for India the answer to energy security, affordability, and climate change/pollution is cleaner fuels. So, energy transition for India is a natural path,” Sinha said.

The main outcome of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, was the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which sets a target of $300 billion in annual climate finance for developing countries by 2035. India had made an uncharacteristically strong criticism of the Baku agreement, calling the final agreed amount “abysmally poor” and “paltry”.

ReNew has an operating renewable portfolio of 10.4 gigawatts (GW), all of which is in India. The mix includes 4.8 GW wind, 5.5 GW of solar and 99 MW hydro.

Also Read: Budget announces National Nuclear Energy Mission as India chases clean energy.

Sinha said the Union Budget for FY26 aims to achieve high-impact growth while keeping the fiscal deficit within the 4.4 percent target, ensuring macroeconomic stability. He added that the Rs 20,000 crore allocation for nuclear energy and the proposed legislative reforms demonstrate a forward-thinking approach to energy security and decarbonization.

Sinha, however, said the ReNew has not yet considered foraying into nuclear power generation.