German government owned development bank KfW plans to lend €800 million in the 2011-12 calendar year to finance various renewable energy projects in India.

“We have already financed around €1.5 billion in the energy sector in India. In addition to this, we plan to earmark another €800 million to fund the green initiatives of India this year (CY-11),” KfW Director, Mr Oskar von Maltzan, told PTI on the sidelines of the ‘Renewtech India Summit’ here.

The German government is keen to promote investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in India by providing sustainable financing through various agencies, he said.

“We finance those government agencies which either implement renewable energy projects or lend funds to private or public investors,” he said.

KfW has provided funds to state run power generating companies such as North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) and NTPC for undertaking hydro and solar based projects.

Power Finance Corp, SIDBI, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), REC and India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL) are some of the entities being funded by the German bank.

KfW recently signed a loan agreement of around €52 million with National Housing Bank (NHB) to promote energy efficiency projects in the residential space, Maltzan said.

The foreign lender has also funded Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), which provides consultancy services on energy saving appliances, buildings and turnkey projects.

KfW Bank is in the process of signing a €200 million line of credit with IREDA next month, Mr Maltzan said, adding that so far, it has provided €140 million to the state run lender.

KfW will also sign a loan agreement worth €100 million with NTPC for a 15 MW solar plant in Rajasthan in the next few months, he said.

In addition, it plans to lend €100 million to REC to enable the company to invest in various energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, Mr Maltzan said.

Furthermore, the bank is looking at funding different programmes that are being implemented by NABARD and the Maharashtra State Electricity Generation Company (MAHAGENCO), he added.

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