US company, BrightNight Power, which is gearing up to commissioning its first, Rs 800-crore, 100MW wind-solar hybrid project, has ambitions to build and own 7 GW of renewable energy assets in five years, the company’s global CEO, Martin Hermann, has told businessline. 

The company expects to invest a billion dollars in India over the next five years. 

Last week, wind turbine manufacturer, Suzlon, announced its deal with BrightNight India for the supply of 29 MW of turbines. The machines are for the wind part of the 100 MW project, which is coming up at Narangwadi, Maharashtra. 

“I have been observing the Indian market for a very, very long time, and I can tell you that India has always delivered on its promises,” Hermann said, adding that the country gave foreign investors “fair and transparent” access to market. 

Accordingly, BrightNight plans to build 1 GW in three years, 7 GW in five years. Of this, 1.2 GW will be developed through a joint venture with ACEN Renewables International, part of the Ayala group of the Philippines.  

A proprietary software enables BrightNight, which has 23GW of project pipeline globally, to guarantee its customers 80 per cent replacement of grid power with renewable energy.  

Even as the Naragwadi plant is being built, the company has lined up about six customers for supply of electricity from 53 MW of capacity, power purchase agreements (PPAs) with whom would be signed next quarter.  

K V Sajay, BrightNight India’s CEO, says that ‘commercial and industrial’ (C&I) customers are increasingly looking for long-duration PPAs, about 15-25 years—which suits a developer like BrightNight. 

The company is also working on building the next project—600 MW—in Rajasthan, which also would be (as in the case of Naragwadi) co-located wind-solar (perhaps battery storage too) plant. After buying the lands, the company would bid for ‘peak power supply’ tenders.  

It is learnt from market sources that the tariffs for all-RE peak power supply are settling at around ₹4.7-5 a kWhr. This would come down as and when the cost of battery storage declines. 

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