ADB to Help Set Up Indian Hydropower Hub

The Asian Development Bank will loan USD800 million to help transform India’s Himachal Pradesh state into the nation’s “hydropower state.” The eight-year financial package will back the construction of run-of-river hydropower generating plants with a combined capacity of 808 megawatts. “Himachal Pradesh’s focus on hydropower development will provide jobs to state residents and will further the state’s and the country’s goal of maximizing this clean, indigenous resource to help meet its energy needs,” said ADB energy economist Andrew Jeffries. (“ADB to Help India’s Himachal Pradesh Become ‘Hydropower State’ Via Multi-Tranche Loan” - Asian Development Bank, Oct. 23, 2008)