Multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday said it will extend a $200 million loan to India for installation of energy-efficient home and street lights, and water pumps.
The entire exercise could save energy to the tune of 3,800 gigawatt-hours per year.
Director General of ADB’s South Asia Regional Department, Hun Kim , is of the opinion that energy efficiency is by far the least costly option to ensure or expand energy access while still cutting deadly greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.
ADB will provide the funds to Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a joint venture between four public sector bodies – the National Thermal Power Corporation, Powergrid Corporation of India, Power Finance Corporation, and Rural Electrification Corporation – established in 2009.
EESL will make loans available for installing light-emitting diode (LED) municipal streetlights, energy-efficient domestic lights and fans, and energy-efficient agriculture water pumps.
The entire $400 million project will install 1.5 million LED street lamps, 42 million LED household lamps, ceiling fans and LED tube lights, and 225,000 new pumps. Lending will be made available in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, as well as other states going forward.
Under the recently agreed Paris climate agreement, India has committed to cutting the energy intensity of its economy by 33 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.
By Baishakhi Dutta
