NEW DELHI: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the State Bank of India (SBI) have agreed to cooperate in extending credit to wind energy producers, by opening up an ongoing financing initiative to support onshore wind projects. The EIB on Friday stated that under the agreement promoters of onshore wind projects will be able to benefit from long-term low cost financing under a dedicated €600 million renewable energy financing programme already supporting large-scale solar investment across India. Preliminary discussions with promoters in a number of Indian states have already identified schemes that could benefit from the expanded EIB-SBI financing, it noted.
The EIB has also approved expanding credit lines to renewable energy producers through another agreement, this time with private sector lender Yes Bank. “Over the last year, close cooperation between the European Investment Bank and Yes Bank has identified solar power projects and wind farms across India that will benefit from a dedicated renewable energy credit line, backed with €80 million of EIB financing. Following successful progress in allocating this financing a second renewable energy credit line is currently being finalised and expected to be rolled out in the coming months,” it said.
According to data, EIB provided €4.4 billion in 2017 for renewable energy investment worldwide and in recent years has supported projects across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Speaking at an offshore energy investment conference, Andrew McDowell, vice president, said that he looked forward to broadening cooperation with Indian partners “to support new renewable energy projects in the months ahead and enabling offshore wind to contribute to clean power generation in the country”.