Fourth Partner Energy Private Limited: India’s leading C&I Renewable Energy Company
Fourth Partner Energy Private Limited (“FPEL” or “Company”)is India’s leading Renewable Energy Solutions Company, catering to Commercial & Industrial (C&I) businesses that accounts for 50% of total electricity demand in India. We are committed to accelerating Decarbonization across the corporate sector, not just in India but across South and Southeast Asia. Company offers Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) to help businesses offset almost 100% of their energy requirement through clean and green sources.
The company, in its initial years, was a solar power EPC provider providing CAPEX solutions to C&I clients under which clients could set up solar plants at their premises at their own cost. Over time, the company adapted its focus and strategies to stay ahead of industry trends and better serve its customers. In 2017, the company transitioned into an independent power producer (IPP) with a focus on offering on-site OPEX solutions under which it offers to set-up solar plants for its clients at zero capital costs and at the same time delivering ~40-50% savings in electricity costs, via long-term power purchase agreements. Today, Fourth Partner Energy has emerged as the largest player in terms of market share in the onsite solar segment for C&I.
Ever since 2000, the India has seen an incredible two-fold jump in energy usage, propelled upwards by a growing population, rapid economic growth. An expanding economy, increasing population, growing urbanization and industrialization means that India is set for an unprecedented increase in energy demand as compared to any other country, globally. According to the International Energy Agency, to meet the growth in electricity demand over the next twenty years, India will need to add a power system equivalent to the size of the European Union to what it has now.
As India’s leading renewable energy company catering to the corporate sector, FPEL is sitting on the threshold of a huge opportunity that comes with tremendous responsibility. With over 60% of the country’s GHG emissions being traced back to the energy sector, switching to clean sources will soon become imperative. India is targeting achieving Net Zero by 2070 and has committed to reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030. The journey to this leadership pedestal is going to be defining, not only from a socio-economic standpoint but also from an environmental point of view.
British International Investment In India's Renewable Energy Sector: A Catalyst For Positive Change
Capital (Equity, debt or working capital) is one of critical factor in building renewable energy assets under OPEX model. Raising debt at optimal rates in a timely manner ensures capital efficiency and helps deploy a larger asset pool on a given capital base. The Company had a track record of raising debt financing from the renowned ESG focused Impact investors in the past. In 2020, the Company had initiated discussion with British International Investment (BII) for raising Mezzanine debt financing at Fourth Partner Energy. In 2021, the BII had committed INR 2.5 bn (c. USD 31m) into Fourth Partner Energy Private Limited towards funding of capex related to solar power plants across India. In addition, BII made an additional commitment of INR 3.5 bn (c. USD 44m) to FPEL in 2022. Mezzanine capital provided by BII was utilized by FPEL towards funding capex of solar power plants.
The Company had an operational portfolio of c. 100 MWp in 2020 & BII’s capital accelerated its renewable energy journey with existing operational portfolio at c. 624 MWp. Prior to the investment into the Company, BII had carried out an extensive due diligence on the Company’s financial & tax, Commercial, Technical, legal & Environmental and Social aspects.
BII played an instrumental role in strengthening the Company’s Environmental & Social Practices. BII’s ESG & Business Integrity Team works closely with the Company and supports in strengthening the Environment & Social Management System (ESMS) that demonstrates the organisation’s commitment towards its environmental and social risks and assesses ways to manage them responsibly and ethically.
BII has been an observer in the Company’s Board Level ESSG Committee which supervises the ESG performance of the Company. BII being the pioneer in making investment in the renewable energy space & having an established record of investing & managing the Renewable platform in India, the Company has leveraged the BII team’s accumulated knowledge & learnings from their past investment into become one of the best ESG compliant Companies in India. The recent silver medal award from the Eco Vadis is a testament to the Company’s ESG performance.
Investing For A Better Future: How the BII’s smart Investment in FPEL is creating Positive Impacts On The Environment:
FPEL is directly contributing to India’s NDCs, and its core business contributes toward the achievement of all the UN Sustainable Development Goals. BII’s investment is creating maximum impact under the following SDGs :
FPEL is accelerating India’s energy transition goals with on-site, off-site, energy
trading, EV infrastructure, and new solar technologies. The BII’s investment helped the Company to accelerate its goals.
FPEL has generated 2309 green jobs in the year FY 2021
The projects constructed through BII’s fund enables the commercial and industrial customers source their energy from a cheaper renewable source, thereby reducing emissions and improving their sustainability and productivity.
BII’s investment in FPEL is expected to create the following Environmental Impacts each year
The Founder / Executive Director of the Company apprises the BII team on Company’s Business performance monthly, further BII also has access to Business Performance review submitted to Company’s Board. As part of the reporting structure, the Company reports Quarterly financial, Environmental & Social performances to BII.
As the ethos of Fourth Partner, we consider all our stakeholders which includes Investors, Lenders, Off-takers & Employees as a “Fourth Partner”. We are proud to have BII as our “Fourth Partner” who is playing a pivotal role in supporting FPEL’s journey to become one of the largest Renewable Energy Service providers in India.
Warm Regards,
Vivek Subramanian
Executive Director, Fourth Partner Energy Private Limited