OPIC to invest $ 820 mn in renewable sector

The US financial agency, Overseas Private Investment Corp (OPIC) expects to mobilise investments of $820 million by the year-end to finance projects in the Indian renewable sector.
“We have doubled our portfolio of investments in India since last November. By the end of calendar year, we hope to have generated $520 million in brand new investments of US companies into solar and renewable sector,” Ms Elizabeth Littlefield, President and CEO of OPIC. Besides, the OPIC expects to mobilise $300 million in private equity fund to invest in smaller firms in the renewable sector, Ms Littlefield told the US India Business Council roundtable on supporting India’s infrastructure.
OPIC has been focussing on renewable sector in India and has been working with both large and smaller companies in areas of solar, bio-gas, wind and hydro power sector since 2007.  “We expect to make a difference to address India’s challenges such as energy shortage, difficulty in access and distribution and shift to cleaner sources of energy,” Ms Littlefield said.
Meanwhile, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) also announced a grant of $1.4 million for feasibility studies of two clean energy projects in India.
USTDA Director, Ms Leocadia Zak announced a grant of $719,985 to Astonfield Renewables Pvt Ltd to prepare design and deployment of a 5 MW solar photovoltaic unit in Bankura, West Bengal and a 10 MW plant in Belgaum, Karnataka. Ms Zak also announced a $686,447 study grant to North Delhi Power Ltd for the implementation of smart grid technology in India.
The USTDA is also expected to announce support for the Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) at the Chennai International Airport. The project will provide assistance to the Airports Authority of India for installation and operational commissioning of a pilot GBAS system.