To help India attain low energy-intensive growth, the World Bank aims to increase its lending to the country’s clean-power generation and energy-efficiency programmes.
The move is part of the ‘energy sector strategy’ being developed by the World Bank Group, aimed at facilitating increased access to cleaner energy in the developing nations. The strategy primarily includes lending to renewable power projects and a rehabilitation programme for coal-based plants.
“Out of our total committed lending of over $3 billion (about Rs 13,800 crore) for the power sector in India, around $180 million (Rs 828 crore) has been earmarked for rehabilitation of coal-fired generation,” said Salman Zaheer, sector manager (energy) at the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Department. The bank has committed the rest of the lending towards energy-efficiency projects, along with transmission systems and hydro power development.
“The total cost of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from energy use in non-Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries to limit long-term CO2 concentrations would average $85 billion (Rs 390,000 crore) a year during 2010-30,” says the WBG’s approach paper for its energy strategy.
