France offers 80mn euro credit for Himachal hydro power plants

France on Tuesday inked an 80 million euro credit facility agreement with India for the development of two hydroelectric power plants in Himachal Pradesh, an official statement said.

Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) J\oint Secretary Selvakumar and the French Development Agency (AFD) Deputy Director in India Herve Dubreuil signed the credit facility agreement of 80 million euros for the development of hydroelectric power in Himachal Pradesh, said a statement from the French Embassy.

The programme will finance two run-of-river hydroelectric plants, namely Deothal Chanju HEP (30 MW) and Chanju III HEP (48 MW) situated in the Chanju river basin.

The project aims to provide 78MW of renewable energy, which will generate 280 GWh of electricity per year and reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions.

 

The project will be developed by the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL), which has been allotted hydroelectric projects aggregating to 3,111 MW and has a target of installing 934 MW of new hydropower capacity in Himachal Pradesh by 2022.

The government of Himachal Pradesh is bringing 20 per cent equity to the project, it said.

--IANS

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