News agency PTI has reported that German development bank KfW has agreed to provide an Rs600-crore low-interest loan for the first phase of a 125 MW solar park project in West Bengal.
The project will come up in Purba Medinipur district and will be executed by the state utility West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL).
The funding will be provided for a 15-year term at 0.15% interest and cover 80% of the overall project cost of Rs 750 crore, reported PTI. The remaining 20%—Rs 150 crore—will be covered by the WBSEDCL as equity funding.
“For the first phase of the 125 MW solar park at Dadanpatra in Purba Medinipur, the major cost is being funded by the KfW totalling Rs 600 crore at a marginal interest rate of 0.15%. We will fund the rest. The total project is of 200 MW,” the newspaper reported, quoting power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay.
The project will come up over a 1,000-acre plot, of which 600-acre has been arranged, and the rest is in the process of acquisition, the minister told PTI.
West Bengal had 117 MW of installed solar capacity as on June 30, 2020, including 70 MW ground-mounted and 47 MW rooftop—as per the data shared on the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Website. On completion, the project will double the state’s installed solar capacity.
The funding by the German development bank has received Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) clearance, PTI reported.
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