CDC's Renewable Energy company hits 1GW energy capacity

Ayana Renewable Power was launched in 2018 by CDC Group, a development financing firm controlled by the United Kingdom government. Ayana was founded to create large-scale solar and wind energy projects in India.

Today, the company announced that it has attained 1 gigawatt (GW) of operational renewable energy capacity in India. This feat was accomplished with the commissioning of a 300MW solar energy project in Bikaner, Rajasthan. This is the company's largest project to date, encompassing 1,500 acres of land.

Developing green energy capacity is critical for India's long-term economic development since it will help decarbonize the energy mix and create jobs. According to the CDC, "this project has created nearly 2,000 jobs, is expected to meet the equivalent demand of 1.4 million end-users, and is estimated to help save 6.23 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually over the next two decades".

Ayana's strategic objectives align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7 (affordable and clean energy), 8 (creating economic opportunities through growth), and 13 (climate action).

Ayana's Managing Director and CEO, Shivanand Nimbargi, stated: "We founded Ayana with a vision to create significant large renewable energy capacity across India while also contributing to the development of the communities in which we operate. We reached this critical milestone of 1 GW (AC) operational renewable energy capacity with the cooperation of our stakeholders, which is in line with our long-term target of 10 GW (AC) of renewable energy portfolio by 2025. We will continue to accelerate and contribute to India's energy transformation goal of 500 GW (AC) of renewable energy capacity by 2030."

Brief description of CDC

CDC is a UK champion of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals – the global blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for us all.

The company has investments in almost 1,200 businesses in emerging economies with total net assets of £6.8bn and a portfolio of £5.2bn.

CDC is changing its name to British International Investment, and this will become official on the 4th of April 2022.