KSEB Gets Nod for KfW Funding for Green Energy Corridor Projects

Kerala State Electricity Board Gets Nod for KfW Funding for Green Energy Corridor Projects

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has received the green signal from the German development bank, KfW, for securing a loan for the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) project that it is implementing. The signatories of the pact will be the State government, KSEB and KfW.

It may be recalled that the Central government and KfW had inked a pact in November last year towards the Kerala Green Energy Corridor Project of Rs1,457 crore.

The project being undertaken by KSEB will qualify for a loan from KfW for Rs 916 crore. It will be eligible for a 3% to 4% interest rate. In addition, it will receive a grant from the Central government for Rs 138.71 cr.

Green Energy Corridor Projects 

The scheme will pave the way for grid integration and power evacuation of power from renewable energy.

The Green Energy Corridor Projects will entail the North Green Power Corridor Project for Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts, the Attappady Green Power Corridor Project for the tribal areas of the Attappady, Agali and Kottathara regions and the Ramakkalmedu Green Power Corridor Project.

Kasaragod will see the establishment of a solar power plant. The Northern Corridor will transmit the electricity generated here to Wayanad and Kannur. Attappady and Idukki corridors will be responsible for energy transmission from Attapadi and Ramakkalmedu wind farms.

To get the Central grant, Kerala must award the project before November 23, 2023.

KfW has been actively funding renewable energy projects in India. A financing arrangement for 150 million EUROS (EUR) has been reached by Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and the State Bank of India (SBI) to fund solar projects in India in November 2022. It is providing an amount of more than one billion euros to support green energy corridors- that connect solar, wind and hydropower plants to the electricity grid in India.

In 2020, KfW granted a Rs 600 crore loan to the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) for the work on the first phase of a 125 MW solar PV power project in the Purba Medinipur district of the state.