The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to jointly support the development of clean energy infrastructure in India.
As per the deal, the partners will provide $848m in funding for the development of solar power generation and renewable energy transmission projects in the country.
Under the terms of the MoU, USAID will provide technical assistance for ADB’s current and planned investments in solar and renewable energy transmission infrastructure projects.
The deal is expected to contribute to the Indian Government’s aim to have 175GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022. This includes 100GW of installed solar capacity.
ADB India country director Teresa Kho said: "ADB welcomes this collaboration with USAID that brings together our respective strengths, expertise, and resources to the common objective of supporting India’s targets for clean energy expansion."
At present, ADB is financing the development of power evacuation infrastructure for solar parks in the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Initially, the collaboration will design and develop public-private partnership models as well as study options for managing grid reliability in Rajasthan.
USAID will manage the technical activities to help ADB fund $348m for transmission infrastructure for renewable projects in western Rajasthan.
An additional $500m will be invested for the design and development of solar projects in the country.
USAID India mission director Jonathan Addleton said: "USAID and ADB have a shared interest in helping the Government of India achieve its clean energy targets.
"This partnership with ADB is a good example of how together we can broaden and multiply our contribution.
"By aligning our technical expertise and financial resources, we can have an out-sized impact on clean energy deployment."
The collaboration will also assist the country’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in selecting states to launch public private partnership (PPP) investment models for solar parks.
MNRE plans to have 20,000MW of installed solar power by 2020.
Image: ADB backed the development of concentrated solar power plant in Rajasthan, India. Photo: courtesy of Asian Development Bank.