Norway invests in Indian photo voltaic mission, sees it as a precedence market

Norway’s Local weather Funding Fund and the nation’s largest pension firm, KLP, are set to spend money on a 420-megawatt solar energy mission being developed in Rajasthan, India.

The 2 events will make investments round 2.8 billion Indian rupees (roughly $35 million) for a 49% stake within the Thar Surya 1 mission, which is being constructed by Italian agency Enel Inexperienced Energy.

In keeping with an announcement from the Norwegian Embassy in India, the Local weather Funding Fund is slated to allocate 10 billion Norwegian Krone (roughly $1 billion) to initiatives over the following 5 years.

The embassy additionally described India, which is on monitor to change into the planet’s most populous nation subsequent yr, as a “precedence market.”

That comes as Norway’s growth finance establishment, Norfund — which manages the Local weather Funding Fund — and Enel Inexperienced Energy have established an India-focused strategic funding partnership.

“That is the primary funding we’re making with Enel, and collectively we have now nice ambitions to contribute with comparable investments in India within the years to come back,” Tellef Thorleifsson, CEO of Norfund, stated in a press release issued Monday.

Whereas it’s investing in renewable power initiatives, Norway’s oil and fuel reserves make it a significant exporter of fossil fuels.

“Lately, Norway has equipped between 20 and 25 per cent of the EU and United Kingdom fuel demand,” Norwegian Petroleum says.

“Almost all oil and fuel produced on the Norwegian shelf is exported, and mixed, oil and fuel exceeds half of the full worth of Norwegian exports of products,” it provides.

India’s targets

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Power says that, over the previous seven and a half years, the nation’s photo voltaic capability has elevated from round 2.6 gigawatts to over 46 gigawatts.

India needs its renewable power capability — excluding massive hydro — to hit 175 GW this yr, a difficult goal. On June 30, put in renewable power capability, excluding massive hydro, stood at 114.07 GW, based on a latest assertion from India’s minister of state for brand new and renewable power.

Regardless of its renewable power targets, India stays reliant on fossil fuels. On the finish of June, fossil fuels’ share of India’s complete put in era capability stood at 58.5%, based on the Ministry of Energy.

Finally yr’s COP26 local weather change summit, India and China, each among the many world’s largest burners of coal, insisted on a last-minute change of fossil gasoline language within the Glasgow Local weather Pact — from a “section out” of coal to a “section down.” After preliminary objections, opposing nations in the end conceded.

Throughout a speech delivered to The Power and Sources Institute’s World Sustainable Improvement Summit in Feb. 2022, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated he firmly believed that “environmental sustainability can solely be achieved by local weather justice.”

“Power necessities of the folks of India are anticipated to almost double within the subsequent twenty years,” Modi stated. “Denying this power can be denying life itself to tens of millions. Profitable local weather actions additionally want ample financing.”

He added, “For this, developed nations want to meet their commitments on finance and expertise switch.”

European curiosity

The Norwegian curiosity in India’s renewable power sector represents the most recent instance of main organizations and companies making a play within the nation.

Earlier this yr, for instance, German power big RWE and India’s Tata Energy introduced a collaboration centered on growing offshore wind initiatives in India.

“India has glorious wind sources, which may help to fulfill the nation’s rising power calls for,” Sven Utermohlen, RWE Renewables’ CEO for offshore wind, stated in a press release.

“If clear laws and an efficient tender scheme are in place, we count on India’s offshore wind business will acquire an actual momentum,” he stated.

— CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.