International Finance Corp, the private sector lending arm of World Bank group, may extend a loan facility of up to $15.75 million to Jath Wind Energy Ltd, a special purpose vehicle sponsored by NSL Renewable Power, for the development of a 40 megawatt (MW) wind power plant in Maharashtra.
IFC is already an equity holder in NSL Renewable Power with 7.9 per cent stake.
Jath Wind Energy was formed for construction, operation and maintenance of the 40 MW project, which is expected to be commissioned by March 31, 2014.
The electricity generated from the plant would be sold to the state-run utility Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd.
The total cost of the project is estimated at about $45 million equivalent and the proposed IFC investment in the project consists of an IFC ‘A’ loan of up to $15.75 million, subject to a cap of 35 per cent of the total project cost.
The remaining debt financing of up to $15.75 million is to be arranged from other Indian lenders by NSL Renewable Power or via IFC’s syndicated loan products.
INOX Wind Ltd, a group company of IFC’s another investee company Inox Renewables Ltd, will design, develop and commission the project.
As of June 30, 2013, NSL Renewable Power has capacity of 184.5MW, including 12 MW biomass plants in Andhra Pradesh, 147.5 MW wind farms in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, 5 MW of hydro in Himachal Pradesh and a 20 MW solar project in Gujarat.
Recently, the company raised structured equity financing from Proparco, DEG, GS Power, ACE Fund and FE Clean along with IFC and straight equity from ADB and Korak PE to fund its wind and hydro projects.
IFC has been an active investor in the clean energy space and as of the end of financial year 2012-13, invested over $1 billion investment in India’s renewable energy and clean technology sectors. IFC follows July to June calendar.
Besides, the financial institution’s investment in India’s green business increased 77 per cent to $362 million in 2012-13 from $204 million in the year-ago period.
Recently, it proposed to make an investment of up to $21 million in Visakha Water Reclamation Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, a 51:49 JV between Eco Protection Engineers and AV Rambabu Infra.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
