Norwegian pension fund provider, KLP, has partnered with Norfund to invest €300m in a 420 megawatt solar power plant in India.

This marks the first investment KLP has made in India with Norfund, and one of the first investments for the new state climate fund.

KLP will be providing around half of the €300m investment, to help fund the 420 megawatt solar power plant being built in Rajasthan in India by Italian company, Enel Green Power.

The solar power plant is expected to meet India’s growing energy needs in the future and help to reduce emissions by offering renewable energy.

It will annually deliver more than 750 gigawatt hours, and given the high proportion of coal in India's energy mix, is expected to help avoid more than 615 thousand tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

Commenting on the investment, Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, stated: “With such great needs, it is crucial that we use public money in a way that also triggers more private capital. I am therefore very happy that Norfund is including Norway's largest pension company KLP in this investment."

KLP director of social responsibility, Heidi Finskas, also emphasised that more renewable energy is needed, particularly in developing countries where coal is often the alternative, to achieve the targets in the Paris Agreement.

"The world must triple investments in renewable energy until 2030 so that the energy market can meet the need in a way that is compatible with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement, according to the International Energy Agency," she stated.

Adding to this, KLP CEO, Sverre Thornes, stated: "KLP and Norfund have invested together in developing countries for ten years and we are very happy to enter a market like India where the need for renewable energy is great.

"The phasing out of coal is necessary to cut emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement. KLP has a goal of increasing climate-friendly investments by at least six billion kroner each year. This has a good climate effect and gives a good return to our owners."

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