ADB lends USD 1bn to expand India's grid, renewables transmission

National transmission firm Power Grid Corp of India Ltd (NSE:POWERGRID) will receive USD 1 billion (EUR 909m) of loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to upgrade and expand its infrastructure to integrate more renewables.

More specifically, the company will get a USD-500-million government-backed loan and a further USD 500 million in non-sovereign lending, the ADB said in a statement on Friday. “The new transmission lines connecting renewable energy-rich areas to the national grid will enhance connectivity between the regions by bringing clean energy to more people, making the overall Indian power system more efficient, and improving India’s overall energy security,” ADB South Asia department director general, Hun Kim, explained.

The proceeds will be used to build new and upgrade existing high-voltage transmission lines and substations in the states of Rajasthan and Punjab under the Indian government’s Green Energy Corridor initiative. Power Grid will also contruct high-voltage direct current (DC) terminals in Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala states in order to increase energy delivery from the western to the southern parts of the country from 10 GW to 16 GW.

PowerGrid currently needs more than USD 3.4 billion for the interstate Green Energy Corridor and USD 10 billion more for its enhanced overall interregional connectivity plans.

India has set a national renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022, roughly 90% of which is expected to be generated from solar and wind farms.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.909)

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