(dpa) - The Asian
Development Bank (ADB) said Saturday it was extending a rupee-denominated loan
worth 113 million dollars to a private Indian firm that will develop two wind
power projects.
The Manila-based ADB said the wind energy facilities will be
built in the states of Gujarat and Karnataka by a wholly Indian-owned
subsidiary of CLP Holdings of Hong Kong.
"The project will help India's economic growth and energy diversification
in an environmentally sustainable manner," said Shantanu Chakraborty, an
investment specialist at the ADB.
The bank noted that while Gujarat and Karnataka are two of the leading states
in India for wind power generation, they both continue to suffer from
significant power shortages.
"Both states hold greater potential for wind power projects due to long
coast lines and suitable inland areas," the ADB said in a statement.
The new projects, which have a total estimated cost of 9.9 billion rupees (251
million dollars), will add a total of 183.2 megawatts in capacity in the two
states.
India is the third-largest electricity consumer in Asia behind China and Japan. Thermal power plants, mostly coal-fired, provide 66 per cent of the
installed capacity.
Hydropower accounts for 26 per cent of capacity, with gas and
oil- fired thermal power plants, renewable energy plants and nuclear power
plants providing the rest.
The ADB noted that as of September 2007, India had more than 7,200 megawatts of
installed wind power capacity but said it has the gross potential of more than
45,000 megawatts.
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