Norwegian investment fund Norfund and Norwegian pension company KLP have agreed to take a 49% stake in a 420MW solar PV plant in India developed by Enel.
The transaction is estimated to be INR2.8 billion (US$35 million), with the solar project currently under construction in the solar hotbed state of Rajasthan.
Norfund’s participation in this 420MW solar PV plant comes through its management of the Norwegian Climate Investment Fund (NCIF), which launched earlier this year.
The fund will allocate NOK2 billion (US$205 million) per year for the next five years in renewable energy projects in developing countries.
Aside from prioritising projects in India, the fund will also actively look to invest in up to 9GW of renewables in South Africa, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
“We are extremely glad to have this large-scale investment in place. If India is to base its energy needs on renewables there is an enormous need for capital, which we are contributing to in part with the new climate investment fund,” said Tellef Thorleifsson, CEO of Norfund.
Moreover, this is not the first collaboration between the investment fund and Enel as both companies signed an agreement in 2020 to build and operate new renewables projects in India.
