IndiGrid, BII, Norfund Form $ 300 Mn EnerGrid Platform

IndiGrid, British International Investment (BII), and the Norwegian Climate Investment Fund, managed by Norfund, have teamed up to create EnerGrid, a USD 300 million platform dedicated to accelerating India’s energy transition. The newly formed platform, EnerGrid, aims to bid for and develop greenfield transmission and standalone Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects, supporting India’s renewable energy capacity and addressing the nation’s growing energy demands.

IndiGrid, India’s first listed infrastructure investment trust in the power sector, is contributing to EnerGrid alongside BII and Norfund, with each party committing approximately USD 100 million. The venture is positioned to fund projects worth up to USD 1.2 billion in the coming years. This partnership reflects a collective vision to expand India’s transmission infrastructure and meet the increasing power demand, as estimated by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). According to the CEA, India will need an additional 170,000 circuit kilometres of transmission lines and 47 GW of BESS capacity over the next eight years to facilitate its power grid expansion.

EnerGrid builds on a previous collaboration formed earlier this year, in which BII and Norfund invested in three of IndiGrid’s existing greenfield projects. With EnerGrid, IndiGrid aims to develop a robust portfolio of transmission projects, while BII and Norfund bring global funding and sustainability practices. Upon the commencement of commercial operations, IndiGrid will acquire the projects at a pre-agreed enterprise value.

Harsh Shah, CEO, IndiGrid, expressed optimism about the platform’s impact, noting, “This partnership allows IndiGrid to create a substantial growth pipeline for the transmission sector, which is crucial to India’s net-zero ambitions.” Tellef Thorleifsson, CEO, Norfund, added, “Our investment supports India’s renewable energy goals, aligned with our climate finance priorities highlighted at COP29.”