USAID, ADB to provide Rs 5,681 cr for solar parks in India

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Asian Development Bank today signed a pact for providing Rs 5,681 crore (USD 848 million) to develop solar parks across India, as part of clean energy infrastructure in the country.
The agreement was signed by Jonathan Addleton, Mission Director, USAID for India and M Teresa Kho, Country Director, India Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank (ADB).
"Through the agreement, USAID will align the technical resources of two of its programs to support ADB's investments in the development of solar parks and renewable energy transmission infrastructure in states at the forefront of India's efforts to promote clean energy", the US Embassy said in a press statement.

The collaboration will initially focus on the state of Rajasthan, it said.
The cooperation will design and develop public private partnership models as well as study options for managing grid reliability.
In particular, USAID technical activities will help place investments of Rs 2,331 crore by ADB for transmission infrastructure for renewable energy deployment in western Rajasthan.

USAID will also work with ADB across India with an additional Rs 3,350 crore (USD 500 million) of investment in the design and development of solar parks.
Under the terms of the MoU, the USAID will align components of their technical assistance with ADB's current and planned investments in renewable energy.

USAID, through its Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment (PACE-D) Program, will work with the ADB to assist Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and select states in the design and development of public private partnership (PPP) investment models for solar parks.
The assistance will focus on bringing innovation to the grid integration of power from concentrated renewable energy generation areas such as solar parks.
The specific frameworks for technical assistance are being established in coordination with MNRE, ADB said.
"ADB welcomes this collaboration with USAID that brings together our respective strengths, expertise, and resources to the common objective of supporting India's targets for clean energy expansion," said Kho.

"USAID and ADB have a shared interest in helping the government of India achieve clean energy targets. This partnership with ADB is a good example of how together we can broaden and multiply our contribution," said Addleton.
In support of this, MNRE launched a solar parks scheme to
attract investment from project developers by reducing risks, streamlining the permitting process, bringing down cost through economies of scale, and modernizing infrastructure to allow easier integration of renewable energy into the grid.
MNRE plans to establish 25 solar parks with a combined capacity of 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2020.
The agreement between USAID and ADB will help finance the development of solar parks in support of the government of India's renewable energy targets, said the release.

Besides Rajasthan, ADB is financing the development of power evacuation infrastructure for solar parks in Gujarat as well.