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Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help India develop cleaner power sources
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NewsByte on 19 April, 2008 07:33:00
 
Manila: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said today that it was extending a
rupee-denominated loan worth USD 113 million to a private Indian firm that will
develop two wind power projects. The Manila-based ADB said that the wind energy
facilities would be built in the states of Gujarat and Karnataka by a wholly
Indian-owned subsidiary of CLP Holdings of Hong Kong.
"The project will help India's economic growth and energy diversification in an
environmentally sustainable manner," said Shantanu Chakraborty, an investment
specialist at the ADB. The bank noted that while Gujarat and Karnataka are two
of the leading states in India for wind power generation, they both continue to
suffer from significant power shortages.
"Both states hold greater potential for wind power projects due to long coast
lines and suitable inland areas," the ADB said in a statement. The new projects,
which have a total estimated cost of Rs 9.9 billion (USD 251 million), will add
a total of 183.2 megawatts in capacity in the two states.
India is the third-largest electricity consumer in Asia behind China and Japan.
Thermal power plants, mostly coal-fired, provide 66 per cent of the installed
capacity. Hydropower accounts for 26 per cent of capacity, with gas and
oil-fired thermal power plants, renewable energy plants and nuclear power plants
providing the rest.
The ADB noted that as of September 2007, India had more than 7,200 megawatts of
installed wind power capacity but said that it has the gross potential of more
than 45,000 megawatts. (IANS)