Enel Green Power India and the Norwegian investment fund for developing countries Norfund have signed a long-term agreement to jointly finance, build and operate new renewable projects in the south Asian country.
The agreement is a collaborative investment framework under which Enel Green Power will be responsible for the development and construction of each project, while Norfund will have the right to invest and become an equity partner in the projects once a specific milestone is reached.
Enel Green Power India will support each project by providing technical services starting from the preliminary development activities.
Enel Green Power chief executive Antonio Cammisecra said: “This agreement gives us the opportunity to expand and strengthen our presence in India, after recently scoring our first win in a solar tender in the country.
“By joining forces with an important partner such as Norfund, which shares our commitment towards sustainability and decarbonisation, we will leverage on our technical expertise to harness the significant renewable growth potential of India, while contributing to the achievement of the country’s sustainable energy targets.”
Norfund chief executive Tellef Thorleifsson said: “For Norfund, the partnership represents an opportunity to play a role in providing much needed clean energy in an important market together with a world class industrial partner.
“India has ambitious targets to increase the penetration of renewables, and there is a great need for more capital combined with technical expertise to realize them.
“By partnering with an experienced company like Enel Green Power, we believe we can contribute to both create jobs and promote the transition to renewables.”
Enel Green Power India owns and operates 172MW of wind capacity producing around 320 gigawatt-hours a year in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The company was recently awarded the right to sign a 25-year energy supply contract for a 420MW solar project in Rajasthan, which will be the company’s first solar plant in the country.
