KKR-backed Serentica Renewables secures $1.19bn financing

KKR-backed Serentica Renewables has closed a $1.19 billion financing package to fund and restructure its Indian clean energy operations. The capital raise demonstrates that major global and regional lenders remain willing to deploy significant capital into large-scale Indian renewable projects.

The package is structured across three distinct debt facilities, reflecting a layered approach to risk. A $345 million loan from a consortium including the Asian Development Bank, SMBC, the New Development Bank, and India Exim Bank will finance a large-scale solar-wind hybrid project in Koppal, Karnataka. Hybrid projects are increasingly critical for grid stability, as they mitigate the intermittency issues inherent in single-technology renewable assets.

Separately, Societe Generale and Clifford Capital arranged a $450 million refinancing for an existing renewable energy project. Refinancing operational assets is a typical strategy for infrastructure developers, allowing them to lock in lower borrowing costs as construction risk dissipates and cash flows stabilize.

The final component is a $397 million green term loan specifically for Serentica Renewables India 14 Pvt Ltd. MUFG acted as the sole underwriter for this facility and is currently syndicating the debt to other banking partners. The willingness of a major lender to anchor and syndicate this scale of green debt points to deep liquidity for credible clean energy credits in Asia.

For market participants, the deal underscores the divergence in how different institutions approach Indian renewable risk. Development finance institutions like the ADB and NDB are absorbing the early-stage construction risk of new hybrid capacity. Meanwhile, commercial banks are stepping in to provide balance sheet relief through refinancing and to fund later-stage expansion.

Serentica’s ability to aggregate this volume of capital is directly tied to its operational footprint. The company has reached 8,700 megawatts of contracted renewable capacity, backed by over 3,200 megawatts of operational assets. This existing base provides the cash flow visibility required to support complex, multi-tranche debt structures.

The company ultimately aims to supply 50 billion units of clean energy annually, which would displace 47 million tons of CO2 emissions. Achieving that target will require continued access to syndicated debt markets, making the current $1.19 billion package a crucial proof of concept for its financing model.