Sterlite Power, a global power transmission developer, has announced that it has achieved the financial closure of the Lakadia Vadodara transmission project by securing ₹20.24 billion (~$274.86 million) in funding.

According to one of the lenders, of the ₹20.24 billion (~$274.86 million), ₹6.07 billion ($82.57 million) is equity infusion, and the rest is debt. IndusInd Bank has provided ₹9.17 billion ($124.74 million), and L&T Infrastructure Finance has brought in ₹5 billion ($68.02 million).

The project is a part of India’s Green Energy Corridor (GEC) and is a vital part of the nation’s ambitious target to achieve the 175 GW of renewable capacity by 2022.

Speaking on the development, Anuraag Srivastava, CFO at Sterlite Power, said, “This project is aligned to our country’s renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022. As a leading global developer in power transmission, Sterlite Power aims to deliver and execute large scale renewable energy transmission projects across the country.”

The company had won this project (WRSS 21-Part B) through a tariff-based competitive bidding process, and it connects the wind energy zones of Gujarat to the load centers in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The project involves the laying of 330 km of 765 kV double-circuit transmission line to connect 765/400 kV Lakadia substation to Vadodara substation in Gujarat, within 18 months.

The standing committee on energy has, in the past, said that more funding is needed if India is going to install adequate transmission infrastructure to it the ambitious goal of installing 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022.

Recently, Sterlite Power signed an agreement with U.S.-based Smart Wires to introduce technology for the electric market in India for grid management. The technology named ‘SmartValve^TM’ is expected to allow utilities to optimize the use of their existing transmission capacity and enhance grid flexibility.

In May last year, the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited had come up with a detailed proposal for establishing a transmission system for the evacuation of power from potential solar and wind energy zones in the country’s western region. PGCIL had announced the details of the program, including the justification, estimated cost, tariff impact, results of the system studies, and study assumptions.