ADB makes first RE investment in India

Invests US$30 million in NSL Renewable Power Private Ltd.

The Asian Development Bank said its first equity investment in India’s private sector renewable power generation is also its first private sector assistance to India’s hydropower sector. It invested some US$2.3 billion in renewable projects in Asia in 2012-13.

Hyderabad-based NSL Renewable will use the investment to partially finance the construction of its 100 MW Tidong run-of-rover hydropower project in Himachal Pradesh and the 75 MW Chilarwadi wind power project in Maharashtra.

NSL Renewable is part of the NSL Group that has interests in sugar, textile, and cotton and seed businesses. It targets having an operating renewable power capacity of 1,000MW by 2017.

NSL Renewable currently has 185 MW of installed capacity in wind, solar, bio-mass and hydro projects and has under construction of over 200 MW in wind and 150 MW in hydro. The company hopes to reach 1 gigawatt capacity by 2016.

From 2013-14, ADB targets an investment of $2 billion, said Lakshmi Venkatachalam, ADB Vice-President (Private Sector and Co-financing Operations).