Fourth Partner Energy raises $16 million from European investment funds

India's leading solar solutions provider Fourth Partner Energy has raised $16 million in mezzanine funding from a consortium of European impact investment funds, led by Symbiotics. This is the second round of funding for the company this fiscal after responsAbility Investments AG pumped in $15 million in June.

Symbiotics, a leading market-access platform for impact investing, has arranged for the issuance of this bond in partnership with Netherland’s sustainable banking majors Triodos Bank and ASN Bank. This bond marks the consortium’s foray into India’s commercial solar sector.

Fourth Partner will utilise these funds for the construction of around 150 MW worth of new solar assets.

"At Fourth Partner Energy, we are working hard to bring into India high-quality global financiers committed to the long-term impact of distributed solar... We will be utilising these funds for expanding our distributed solar footprint," said  Pradhyum Reddy, head, corporate finance at Fourth Partner Energy.

Fourth Partner Energy has an operational portfolio of 400 MW of solar assets and is looking to add 350 MW capacity this fiscal. The company is also constructing solar parks across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu as part of its open-access portfolio.

“The issuance of this bond is fully aligned to Symbiotics’ mission to foster sustainable development and wider adoption of green energy in emerging and frontier economies,” Daniel Schriber, head of investments at Symbiotics, said. "We are excited to nurture and selectively grow this segment even further in India with the disbursal of this local currency loan to Fourth Partner Energy."

According to  Rosemarijn van der Meij, Fund Manager, ASN Groenprojectenfonds, commercial and industrial rooftop solar has a huge potential in India. "Medium, small and micro enterprises, the backbone of the Indian economy, are likely to adopt solar energy at a large scale in the coming years as it is a cleaner and cheaper renewable energy alternative and provides tariff certainty for up to 25 years," she said.

Founded in 2010, Fourth Partner Energy has grown to become India's largest company in the distributed solar sector, catering to over 150 major businesses including Walmart, Hindustan Unilever, Ferrero, UltraTech Cement, Coca Cola, PepsiCo, DMart, AkzoNobel, Skoda, Colgate Palmolive and Myntra.

The company commenced International operations in the financial year 2020, with South and Southeast Asia as focus markets.

Fourth Partner forayed into solar-powered EV Charging infrastructure in March this year, through a 50:50 joint venture with leading commercial EV fleet operator, Lithium Urban Technologies and has set up charging hubs in Gurugram and Pune.