India’s renewable push gets $300 million boost as BII, CIP launch North Star platform

British International Investment (BII) and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) have unveiled North Star, a $300 million renewable energy platform focused on scaling solar, wind, hybrid and energy storage projects in India, as global investors sharpen their focus on the country’s rapidly expanding clean energy market.

The two partners will commit up to $150 million each to the platform, which is expected to generate more than 4 million MWh of clean power annually while helping avoid nearly 4 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year. The initiative comes as India races to meet its target of installing 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.

India’s widening climate funding gap

The launch also highlights the scale of capital required for India’s energy transition. According to BII, India faces a climate financing gap of at least $160 billion annually until 2030, despite aggressive policy support and a sharp rise in renewable energy tenders.

North Star has been structured to address a persistent bottleneck in the sector: the lack of development-stage capital and execution capabilities among renewable developers. The platform will seek to accelerate projects from early-stage development to construction and operations, while also attracting additional institutional capital over time.

The investment marks the first deployment under British Climate Partners (BCP), BII’s recently launched £1.1 billion climate finance initiative aimed at mobilising institutional capital into climate projects across Asia’s fast-growing and coal-dependent economies, including India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Institutional investors deepen India bets

India continues to emerge as one of the world’s most attractive renewable energy markets due to rising electricity demand, supportive policy frameworks and declining clean energy costs.

For BII, the North Star launch builds on its previous renewable energy investments in India. In 2018, the UK development finance institution had invested $100 million to establish Ayana Renewable Power, which later attracted significant private capital before being sold last year at an enterprise valuation of $2.3 billion.

CIP, which manages around €37 billion globally across energy infrastructure assets, said the partnership would combine local market understanding with global investment expertise to accelerate project execution in India’s renewable ecosystem.

Focus shifts beyond generation

Apart from utility-scale solar and wind assets, North Star will also focus on hybrid and storage projects — segments increasingly viewed as critical for ensuring grid stability as renewable penetration rises.

Industry experts believe energy storage and hybrid renewable systems will become central to India’s next phase of clean energy expansion, particularly as round-the-clock power demand increases and grid balancing challenges intensify.