Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), a state-owned backer of India’s power sector, plans to lend billions of rupees to clean-energy projects and equipment makers this fiscal year as part of an expanded push into renewables that will also see it issue green bonds overseas.
According to Livemint, chairman P.V. Ramesh said that the non-banking financial company is aiming to triple its clean-energy lending and is expecting to set aside nearly Rs100 billion ($1.5 billion) for renewable energy in the financial year ending 31 March.
REC is not only financing projects but also evacuation infrastructure and have been talking with manufacturers of equipment like wind turbines, solar panels and storage batteries.
REC’s renewables strategy underscores a push by companies associated with conventional power to shift resources toward clean energy. The move, which supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s climate goals, also comes as some coal-fired electricity generators struggle to service debts.
The lender could issue clean-energy bonds outside India by the end of June, Ramesh said.
