Mumbai, July 14 -- Serentica Renewables has secured a loan agreement for up to US$345.1 mn to develop and refinance a large-scale solar-wind hybrid project in Koppal, Karnataka through its special purpose vehicle Serentica Renewables India 1 Private Limited (SRI 1). The financing is led by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which will provide up to US$138 mn from its own resources and has mobilised up to US$207.1 mn from the Export-Import Bank of India, New Development Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The facility is intended to support construction and early operations of the hybrid assets.
The project will comprise 191.4 megawatt (MW) of ground-mounted solar photovoltaic capacity and 204 MW of wind power, designed to deliver round-the-clock renewable energy under a group captive model. The project will supply clean electricity to Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) and is aligned with the purchaser's objective of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The solar and wind facilities will be located across dedicated sites in Karnataka and connected through integrated transmission infrastructure.
Outputs are estimated at 1,073 GWh of renewable generation annually and avoided emissions of more than 880,000 t of carbon dioxide each year. The integrated transmission and evacuation arrangements are intended to enable efficient dispatch of the combined resource and support firm supply to offtakers. Project planners expect additional benefits in grid stability and the demonstration of large-scale hybrid integration.
The arrangement is expected to create local employment opportunities and to promote gender inclusion through leadership development initiatives and workplace policy reforms. Serentica's management said the partnership with ADB reinforces the company's strategy to expand its portfolio of renewable energy, storage and round-the-clock power solutions and to support decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries. The financing marks a milestone in delivering scalable clean energy to industrial customers.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.