US Exim bank approves loan guarantee for Reliance Power project
15 Jul 2010
The US export-import bank has given preliminary approval to a loan guarantee of $600 million for the sale of engineering equipment to the 3,960 MW power plant of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firm, Reliance Power in Sasan, MP.
On 24 June the bank's board had voted against the loan guarantee for the sale and export of equipment by Milwaukee-based Bucyrus International Inc on environmental grounds.
The bank however changed its stance with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between it and Reliance Power on the ADAG firm's intent to develop a new 250 MW renewable energy facility. The facility would rank among the largest renewable energy projects in India.
In a statement the bank said, "This proposed transaction for the Sasan project would support hundreds of jobs at Bucyrus and its sub-suppliers. Today (Wednesday) the Board reviewed new information about the project's CO2 emissions, which Reliance has agreed to cap at 850 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour."
The US Exim bank is a US federal government agency providing export financing that helps to create jobs in the country.
Its chairman and president Fred P Hochberg said the agency was pleased that Reliance was making the commitment to renewable energy which allowed it to sustain US jobs and promote both conventional and renewable energy exports.