Hero Future Energies to invest $20 billion to boost renewable energy capacity to 30 GW by 2030

Hero Group's power production unit, Hero Future Energies, plans to invest $20 billion to scale up its capacity over the next six years, chairman Rahul Munjal told Reuters.

Munjal told the news agency at an industry event on September 17 that the company plans to increase capacity by close to 16 times current levels — from 1.9 GW to 30 GW — by 2030.

Solar, Wind, Battery Storage

The planned 30 GW capacity additions would be for wind, solar, and battery storage technology, the report said. Munjal told Reuters the funding would be internal through a mix of debt and equity.

The company expects 3.4 GW of its target capacity increase to be commissioned in the next two years, and these projects are under construction, the report said.

London-headquartered Hero Future Energies has operational and under-construction portfolio across India, Ukraine and Vietnam.

Clean Energy Goals

This comes amid Indian companies across the board increasing their renewable capacity to contribute to the centre's goal of reducing emissions by adding 500 GW of clean energy by 2030, the report said.

Hero Future Energies' rival, Tata Power too, announced an investment of $9 billion to quadruple its renewable capacity. Besides this, Reliance Industries and Adani Green Energy have also pledged to increase green power at the recent RE-Invest conference in Gandhinagar.

Pre-IPO Fundraise

In February, Mint reported that Hero Future Energies looking to hire JP Morgan for a pre-initial public offering (IPO) fundraising. The deal is expected to have an equity value of around $200 million, said two people aware of the development.

“The transaction is expected to be launched. It is at a very early stage,” one of the two people cited above said, requesting anonymity.

This development came in the backdrop of the green energy firm’s earlier fundraising of $450 million from parent Hero Group and global investment firm KKR in September 2022.

Spokespersons for Hero Future Energies and JP Morgan declined to comment.

In an interview with Mint in August 2023, Munjal said that the company would consider several options to raise funds over the next two to three years, including an IPO. He had added that the company will also plan new fundraises, including private investments and accessing public markets.

(With inputs from Reuters)