Japan-based Sumitomo Corporation will invest in a 500 MW solar and wind project with a co-located 200 MWh battery energy storage system in Bidar, Karnataka, being developed by Hero Future Energies (HFE), the renewable energy arm of the Hero Group.

Power generated by the project will be sold to SJVN under a 25-year power purchase agreement. Some of the surplus electricity generated will be sold via the energy exchange market.

Sumitomo Corporation will acquire a 49% stake in Clean Solar Power (Baniyana), the project company, while Hero Solar Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of HFE, will hold the remaining 51%. Commercial operations are expected to begin in March 2027.

The development comes months after infrastructure debt fund IL&FS Mutual Fund committed an investment of ₹1.25 billion (~$13.63 million) in Hero Solar Energy. The fresh capital will be used for refinancing the company’s debt and support the expansion of its renewable projects.

In October last year, HFE secured a loan of ₹19.8 billion (~$221 million) from the State Bank of India and Canara Bank for the development of a 120 MW wind-solar hybrid project with energy storage systems.

The same year, HFE secured 10.24 billion (~$115.43 million) in funding from SBI for a 60 MW hybrid project in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district. The project, which combined solar, wind, and storage and was contracted with the Solar Energy Corporation of India.

Global solar companies raised $16.9 billion in corporate funding during the first half (1H) of 2026, a 56% year-over-year increase from $10.8 billion in 2025, according to Mercom Capital Group’s 1H and Q2 2026 Solar Funding and M&A Report. The number of corporate funding deals increased by 23%, from 78 in 1H 2025 to 96 in 1H 2026.