The new Norwegian Climate Investment Fund, managed by Norfund, is investing about 600 mill NOK (60 mill USD) in equity in SAEL, an Indian solar and agri waste-to-energy company. The investment will contribute to avoiding more than 2.8 million tons of CO2 emissions and improving air quality by reducing stubble burning.
Each year farmers in Northern India are forced to burn crop 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 producer. 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 15 January 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.
