Monday 9 January 2017

World Bank arm invests $125m in Indian renewable firm

IFC, part of the World Bank Group, has announced it is investing $125 million (£103m) in an Indian renewable energy firm.

The investment is expected to help Hero Future Energies, the renewable arm of Hero Group, to set up 1GW of greenfield solar and wind plants in the next 12 months across India.

The company, which has so far installed 360MW, aims to add 2.7GW of renewable capacity by the end of the decade.

Around 40% of India's population is said to lack access to reliable electricity.

The nation's growing energy sector requires $25 billion (£20.6bn) in investments in the next five years, most of which will have to come from the private sector, according to IFC.

Sunil Jain, CEO, Hero Future Energies said: “This partnership will fuel our ambitions to tap into the incredible opportunity that lies in both domestic and overseas markets as well as new technologies namely storage, hybrid projects among others.

“We will also aggressively focus on expanding our promising rooftop solar portfolio.”

IFC will make the investment alongside the IFC Global Infrastructure Fund, a private equity fund managed by IFC Asset Management Company.