The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to invest US$50 million in Indian renewable energy developer Avaada Energy, which is headed by former Welspun Renewables chief Vineet Mittal.
The investment to help the company rapidly scale up its PV capacity in India will come from ADB’s Ordinary Capital Resources and Leading Asia’s Private Sector Infrastructure Fund (LEAP). LEAP is a funding arrangement provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is administered by ADB.
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Avaada has been in operation since 2017 and works across utility-scale, rooftop, and off-grid solar projects, having already secured power purchase agreements (PPAs) for roughly 1.7GW of capacity, as well as a recent 350MW auction win in Maharashtra.
Mittal said: “These recent investments by global financial giants reinforce India’s prominence in the global clean energy sector. This investment by ADB validates Avaada’s execution track record and commitment in creating a cleaner and sustainable India.”
On Twitter recently, the AEPL chair has also expressed his belief in the spreading of 100MW-sized projects across India as the most suitable PV solution:
A 100 MW solar plant creates approx. 1000 direct+indirect jobs.
Installing a GW scale project will see development in only 1 location. While building 100 MW capacities in each district means every district develops uniformly. #ClimateActionNow @UNEnvironment @narendramodi— Vineet Mittal (@Vineet__Mittal) February 13, 2019
