Norwegian Climate Investment Fund investing in Indian biomass and PV developer SAEL

In India, each year farmers in Northern India are forced to burn agri stubble in their fields to remove paddy residue, resulting in severe air pollution in the region.

SAEL has developed a business model where crop residues are used as fuel in waste-to-energy projects. SAEL is an emerging renewable company in India with presence across solar and agri waste to energy projects. SAEL is India’s largest agri waste to energy producers. SAEL currently has more than 20 projects both operating and under construction in solar and agri waste to energy space

The new Norwegian Climate Investment Fund, managed by Norfund, announced at an event in New Delhi on January 15 that it is now investing equity in SAEL. The goal is to support the company’s ambition to grow its portfolio to 3GW over the next five years by adding 100MW of new biomass and 400MW of new solar capacity annually in addition to its existing portfolio of 600 MW.