Development bank to help build largest solar power plant in India

Dec 5, 2011, 6:44 GMT

Manila - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Monday it was teaming up with one of India's largest private power station developers to build the country's largest solar power plant by next year.

The Manila-based bank said it was providing a loan of up to 48 million dollars to Reliance Power Limited to construct a 40-megawatt solar power plant in the western state of Rajasthan.

The bank noted that Rajasthan has one of the highest levels of solar irradiation in India, which has been pushing to promote environmentally sustainable energy growth.

'India's solar energy potential is one of the highest in the world and this plant will help kickstart large-scale, private-sector solar electricity generation in the country,' said Michael Barrow, an ADB director.

The Export Import Bank of the United States is also providing funding for the project, which is expected to cost around 147 million dollars.

The project would be Reliance Power's first foray into solar energy and was expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2012, the ADB said.

Electricity from the plant would be distributed to households in Mumbai, it added.

The ADB said India would avoid around 41,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year by supplying electricity from clean and renewable sources instead of conventional fossil fuel-based power plants.