IFC to advise on 600MW Solar Power Park in India

International Finance Corporation (IFC), an institution of the World Bank that focuses on private sector funding and  TUSCO Ltd, a Joint Venture Company of THDCIL and Uttar Pradesh New & Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) have  signed an advisory mandate with IFC. Under this mandate, which IFC will support TUSCO in the development of 600MW solar parks in Jhansi, UP, on Public Private Partnership model. IFC is advising the TUSCO, and not funding the project as was mentioned incorrectly in an earlier version of this article.

As per the reports, the solar power park project will be based in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The infrastructural development will be done by TUSCO Limited.

THDC India is a hydropower generation company that looks to develop 2 gigawatts (GW) of capacity. The upcoming 600MW park in Uttar Pradesh is a part of the same endeavor under the Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Park scheme of the Central Government. In this scheme, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) provides capital support for infrastructure in Ultra Mega Solar Parks.

TUSCO will develop the power transmission and also support infrastructure. The company will receive a support of up to $26,800 per MW.

Last year, the IFC had made a crucial investment of $126 million in the Federal Bank– a private sector bank – in India for the expansion and development of climate friendly projects and to help the MSME sector. Renewable energy, green buildings, climate resilient agriculture, energy efficiency and waste management projects are being financed through the move.

IFC had supported the Government of Madhya Pradesh in setting up the 750MW Rewa Solar Power Plant which was the largest in the world a few years ago. The Madhya Pradesh Government had said that IFC’s global expertise in PPPs, leadership in renewable energy, and convening power with investors helped the government implement the unique project.

India is the third largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. The IFC itself has estimated that India offers climate-related investments worth $3 trillion by the end of the present decade.

The new solar park that is to come up in Uttar Pradesh is a part of the Central Government’s objective to install a massive 40 GW of solar power in India before the conclusion of FY2024. As per the government, approval for 26.5 GW of solar power parks is already accorded and nine solar projects with a combined capacity of 14.6 GW are fully or partially operational in the country.