Optima Project to Serve Commercial & Industrial Customers
PVTIME – BrightNight, the next generation and global renewable power producer built to deliver clean and dispatchable solutions, today announced plans for one of its inaugural projects in India: a differentiated 100 MW co-located, wind-solar hybrid renewable power project that will deliver clean, high-capacity factor power to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in the State of Maharashtra.
The Optima project located in the State of Maharashtra has been developed by BrightNight’s India team using its proprietary software platform, which optimizes multiple renewable technologies to meet customers’ load requirements. The renewable power project will meet up to 80% of C&I customers’ power consumption and potentially save customers up to 25% annually on their energy bills while avoiding carbon emissions equivalent to up to 6 million tonnes for project life. The project will consist of co-located wind and solar components, making efficient utilization of grid infrastructure and enabling ease of operations for the grid operator.
“BrightNight is growing rapidly in its quest to globally deliver the next-generation of renewable power projects,” BrightNight CEO Martin Hermann said. “We are well capitalized and have a best-in-class leadership team developing a global portfolio. The Optima project is a great example of how we are using our experienced development team and cutting-edge technology to deliver solutions to our customers: affordable, reliable, and safe renewable power,” added Hermann. “India is a high-growth market with a strong demand for renewable power. I am proud of the India team’s progress and excited about the tremendous potential this market presents for BrightNight.”
Having secured the grid connectivity at the state grid substation, BrightNight is targeting to commission the project by 1Q 2024. BrightNight will work with C&I customers to sign long-term power offtake agreements for the project to meet the highest portion of their power load requirements.
BrightNight has identified India as a core market for its global platform and entered the market with a 1 GW+ portfolio under development led by India CEO Sajay KV and India COO & CFO Naveen Khandelwal, who with the team have collectively delivered more than 7 GW of in-country wind and solar projects.
“Our Optima project is customized to meet the maximum load requirements of our customers,” BrightNight India CEO Sajav KV said. “We’ve received a great response from our prospective customers, and we are actively adding to our portfolio to meet the growing demand for dispatchable renewable power in India.”
BrightNight has a global portfolio of 23 GW across the U.S. and Asia Pacific and is backed by some of the most respected investors in the global energy sector, including Cordelio, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
This project is BrightNight’s first step in its India build-out to serve C&I and utility customers. With its growing India team, BrightNight has established operations in Gurgaon and in Pune to support the execution of the project. It also has a senior Advisory Council consisting of leading business and energy leaders, including Ron Somers, CEO of India First Group and former President of the U.S.-India Business Council, and Gireesh Pradhan, former Chairman, CERC and former Secretary MNRE, Govt of India.
“Investment follows infrastructure, and BrightNight’s project will support businesses that need power with less carbon, greater reliability, and at lower costs. Such a match is beneficial for economic development, the environment, and communities in Maharashtra,” Advisory Council Member Ron Somers said.
