Norway’s development finance institution Norfund and the country’s largest pension fund KLP have announced an investment of NOK109 million (~$10.85 million) for a 49% ownership stake in ReNew Power’s transmission project in the Koppal district of Karnataka.

Norfund said that it was contributing to the connection of 2.5 GW of renewable power in South India being connected to the national grid.

The project comprises a 5*500 MVA 400/220 kV sub-station with a 400 kV D/C quad moose transmission line from the Koppal sub-station to the Narendra New substation and a 400 kV GIS extension at Narendra New at the project site at Koppal.

The project is scheduled for commercial operation by the first quarter of the financial year 2024.

“Investment in the transmission sector provides synergies with our core RE portfolio and demonstrates our success in capital recycling. As a leader in India’s energy transition, we are excited to partner with Norfund and KLP to support India’s green energy transition and look forward to strengthening this partnership in the future”, said Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power Sumant Sinha.

Bjørnar Baugerud, Vice President of Clean Energy, Norfund, said, “Norfund has identified potential investments for over NOK8 billion (~$794.2 million). Faced with the total needs, our contributions are moderate, but there are great possibilities for scaling up. Through this investment, we are contributing to the connection of 2.5 GW of planned renewable power in the south being connected to the national grid.”

The development comes months after Norway’s new Climate Investment Fund, managed by Norfund, made two significant investments in India.

In August last year, the fund and KLP inked a pact to acquire a 49% stake in a 420 MW solar power project in Rajasthan. The estimated cost of the project titled Thar Surya 1 is ₹2.8 billion (~$33.8 million) and is being developed by Italian gas and power utility company Enel Green Power.

In 2020, Enel entered a long-term joint investment partnership with Norfund to set up renewable energy projects in India.