On Tuesday, the new Norwegian Climate Investment Fund managed by Norfund and KLP, Norway’s largest pension company together made its first investment of Rs. 900 million into an Indian transmission project in Karanataka. The Project is developed by ReNew Power.
“Together for the #GreenTransition! Norway’s Climate Investment Fund, managed by @norfund, & largest pension fund @KLPkvitrer make 900 million INR investment in transmission project by @ReNew_Power in Karnataka. @CMofKarnataka@MinOfPower @mnreindia Norway-India,” tweeted Norwegian Ambassador to India, Hans Jacob Frydenlund.
The Norwegian investment in Karnataka will connect 2.5 GW of renewable capacity connected to the national grid.
Renew Power is a leading independent producer of renewable energy in India. In partnership with ReNew Power, Norfund and KLP will invest approximately Rs 900 millions for a 49 percent ownership stake in ReNew Power’s transmission project at Koppal in Karnataka. There are plans for additional joint investments. Read the statement from the Norwegian Embassy in India.
“India succeeding in its green transition is key for the world to succeed in combating global warming. I’m glad Norway can contribute to enabling the expansion of renewables in India through investing in transmission lines,” said Frydenlund.
“Investment in the transmission sector provides synergies with our core RE portfolio and demonstrates our success in capital recycling. As a leader in India’s energy transition, we are excited to partner with Norfund and KLP to support India’s green energy transition and look forward to strengthening this partnership in the future”, said Sumant Sinha, Chairman, and CEO of ReNew Power.
“Through this investment, we are contributing to the connection of 2.5 GW of planned renewable power in the south being connected to the national grid. We are pleased to make Norfund’s and the Climate Investment Fund’s first investment in the sector, and we look forward to strengthening our partnership with Renew,” says Bjornar Baugerud, Vice President, of Clean Energy in Norfund.
The project will consist of a 5 x 500 MVA 400/220 kV sub-station at Koppal with 400 kV D/C quad moose transmission line from Koppal substation to Narendra New substation and 400 kV GIS Extn at Narendra New in Karnataka (Koppal Project). Its commercial operations are expected to start in the first quarter of FY24, added the statement.
“This investment will reduce bottlenecks in the Indian transmission system and open the way for new renewable power generation to produce electricity to meet rising Indian demand. We expect the project to both generate attractive returns and have a strong climate impact,” said Aage Schaanning, Chief Financial Officer at KLP.
Notably, this will be the third investment of the Climate investment fund in India. The fund has already made two previous investments in India – in a large-scale solar park with Enel and in Fourth Partner Energy, India’s leading developer of distributed solar energy solutions.
