Goldman Sachs-backed clean energy firm ReNew Power Ventures has launched a new renewable energy R&D centre at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, India.

The ‘Sumant Sinha ReNew Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Energy & Environment’ aims to facilitate exchange of ideas across the clean energy industry, academia and policy makers worldwide. It will also offer internship opportunities to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, while curating reports on renewable energy policy for the government of India.

The centre is already undertaking research in three segments that require innovation:

• Distribution network integration of large-scale rooftop PV using battery storage technology
• Strengthening the grid to accommodate large-scale renewables
• Development of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles

Prakash Javadekar, minister for human resource development, said: “ReNew Power has undertaken this initiative to take industry-academia partnership to greater heights. Industry participation is essential for creating solutions which are market-ready and this CoE will help solve critical problems in the clean energy sector.”

Sumant Sinha, chairman and CEO, ReNew Power, said: “We are confident that this partnership will facilitate innovative research and help develop leading edge clean energy solutions to preserve the Earth for future generations. It will also promote the exchange of ideas between industry, academia and policy makers from across the world to promote faster adoption of renewable energy.”

ReNew is currently caught up in some legal wrangles around utility-scale solar PPAs in Madhya Pradesh, along with Canada-based firm SkyPower.