India diversifies its power mix by increasing its supply of clear energy

As part of the assistance, ADB will also administer a USD50 million cofinancing loan equivalent from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) — a USD5.8 billion component of the Climate Investment Funds aimed at providing developing countries resources to expand efforts in utilizing low carbon technologies and transitioning to clean, renewable energy sources.

“India, with its mandate of achieving a more sustainable future, is leading the lines in achieving energy security while increasing energy capacity and supply through renewable sources such as solar energy,” said Kaoru Ogino, an ADB Principal Energy Specialist. “We are looking forward to the benefits of this partnership with POWERGRID to continue helping India achieve a more inclusive and sustainable future.”

India, with its massive population and continuously growing power-hungry economy, has been experiencing power deficits. The lack of a reliable electricity supply is constraining the country’s growth potential and making electricity access difficult for 311 million people. Government efforts to address this increasing energy demand include the development of solar parks.

The project will improve the capacity and efficiency of interstate transmission networks, particularly in transmitting the electricity generated from the new solar parks to the national grid. Apart from the evacuation of 2,500 megawatts (MW) of power from solar parks in Bhadla, Rajasthan, and 700 MW from Banaskantha, Gujarat, POWERGRID is also including two additional subprojects that will increase solar power generation by 4.2 gigawatt and lessen carbon emissions by over 7 million tons every year.

The Solar Transmission Sector Project is also the first project to be implemented following the usage of agency-level country safeguards and procurement systems for POWERGRID to speed up processes while providing autonomy and ownership of the project./.