German bank lends €200m for renewable energy in India

Rural Electrification Corporation will provide the funds to investors in the form of low-interest loans

German government-owned development bank KfW has signed €200 million (£180m) loan agreement to support renewable energy projects in India.

Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) will provide the funds to investors in the form of low-interest loans so they can invest in solar and wind power.

The Indian Government is planning to expand the nation’s renewable capacity to 175GW by 2022, which means green energy would represent around 50% of the current total generation.

The funding will support 200MW of capacity – enough to supply around 270,000 homes and help save up to 285,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.

Professor Joachim Nagel, Member of the KfW Group Executive Board said: “India ranks third in the list of countries with the highest CO2 emissions. In light of the ongoing growth in the economy and population, demand for electricity will also continue to rise.

“KfW’s financing to promote the increased use of renewables will make an important contribution to slowing the rise in greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the deficit in the power supply.”

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