BUSINESS & FINANCE
BUSINESS & FINANCE
India and U. S. Launch $ 95 Million Clean Energy Projects
The U. S. recently announced two financial projects worth $ 95 million in India to bring more energy-efficient appliances torural sector, as part of its efforts to continue the global transition to zero-and-low carbon energy sources.
T he US has committed $ 70 million in Overseas Private Investment Corporation( OPIC) financing for renewable energy projects in India; and announced to launch a $ 20 million partnership this week with the philanthropic sector to bring more efficient appliances torural Indian villages. The $ 75 million OPIC financing is for a utility-scale PV project in Telangana. It is sponsored by ReNew Power Ventures. This commitment represents the rapid mobilisation of financing under a $ 250 million facility to support up to 400 MW of new solar power projects in India across multiple states, the White House said. Further the OPIC and Indian Government will this week formally launch a $ 20 million distributed solar facility in partnership with leading philanthropies, it said.
Known as US-India Clean Energy Finance program( USICEF), it will address a key financing gap in the Indian distributed solar market by funding early-stage project preparatory work, it said. USICEF is anticipated to unlock up to $ 400 million in longterm debt financing from OPIC and private sector investors, the White House said. According to the White House fact sheet, the Rockefeller Foundation’ s Smart Power for Rural Development Initiative is also announcing a new partnership with the Clean Energy Ministerial’ s( CEM) Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership( Global LEAP) to accelerate
“ When deployed it is expected to reduce energy consumption by over 50 per cent for rural households, increase revenue for mini-grid operators by over 300 per cent per household, and generate rural employment for people involved in distribution and supply chain management of the devices,” it said.
the deployment and use of energy efficient off-grid devices in rural India. The US Department of State will, subject to Congressional notification, provide funding for Global LEAP to support the development and roll out of a programme to deploy energy- efficient devices such as televisions, fans, and refrigerators at selected Smart Power supported mini-grid sites, the White House said. It will also develop a strategy for a programme-wide scale-up targeted to reduce energy costs for some of the poorest people in India.
Noting that the US President Barack Obama’ s leadership has catalyzed a global transition towards a clean energy economy, the White House said from 2010-2015 alone, the US has invested in more than $ 11 billion in international clean energy finance. At the same time, the US has made research and development a top priority. Key achievements include establishing Mission Innovation( MI), with the leaders of 19 countries, to accelerate innovation by doubling public investment in clean energy research and development to $ 30 billion over five years.
CleanMax Solar commits Rs 1,200 cr for Karnataka
I n an interaction with DH, CleanMax Solar South India Business Development Head Andrew Hines said the company will set up a solar farm with a total capacity of 200 mW.“ Besides rooftop solar plant, we are present in supplying power from a solar farm to the grid. With a progressive policy of Karnataka, we are planning a long-term investment of producing 200 mW,” he said. CleanMax has commissioned 30 mW solar farm in Tumakuru district in March 2016.“ Our second farm is expected to come up in March, and that will be another 50 to 60 mW. Karnataka solar policy provides some sort of incentives for solar plants, set up until March 2018. Under that window we are looking to set up a plant of approximately 200 mW,” he said. Hines said each mega watt will have a capex investment of Rs 6 crore and so the total investment for 200 mW will be Rs 1,200 crore. Besides, 0.5 mW rooftop solar plant at Bengaluru airport, the company also plans to come up another project with Bangalore Metro.“ We are India’ s largest supplier of solar power under the corporate sector with different models. The first one is we install rooftop solar plant and supply directly to them. The second model is we supply power from a solar farm in a rural area into the grid and then the corporate consumer can avail it,” he said. He said in corporate model, the company offers investment.“ Then we own and operate the plant for 20 – 25 years and sell the solar power to our customers. From our customers’ perspective, it is a zero investment opportunity for them. So all they have to do is get into a contract with us to buy the solar power that will also be at a discount of whatever their power supplier offers,” he said.
“ There are two ways that we raise capital- One from within the company itself and the second for a particular project. So, for a specific project we can raise some capital at a project level also,” he said. The Mumbaiheadquartered ClearMax has completed 72 projects across 20 plus industries with presence in Rajastahn, NCR, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
www. EQMagPro. com EQ December 2016 17