August 26, 2022: -Norway’s Climate Investment Fund and the biggest pension company, KLP, are set to finance a 420-megawatt solar power project developed in Rajasthan, India.

The two parties will invest around 2.8 billion Indian rupees for a 49% stake in the Thar Surya 1 project, which Italian firm Enel Green Power is constructing.

According to an announcement from the Norwegian Embassy in India, the Climate Investment Fund is slated to allocate 10 billion Norwegian Krone, almost $1 billion, to projects over the next five years.

The embassy also described India, which is on track to become the planet’s most populous country next year, as a “priority market.”

Norway’s development finance institution, Norfund, which manages the Climate Investment Fund and Enel Green Power, has established an India-focused strategic investment partnership.

“This is the initial investment we make with Enel, and together we have great ambitions to contribute with similar investments in India in the years to come,” Tellef Thorleifsson, CEO of Norfund, said in a statement issued Monday.

While it invests in renewable energy projects, Norway’s oil and gas reserves make it a significant exporter of fossil fuels.

“In the latest years, Norway has supplied between 20 and 25 percent of the EU and United Kingdom gas demand,” Norwegian Petroleum says.

“Nearly all oil and gas produced on the Norwegian shelf is exported and combined; oil and gas exceed half of the total value of Norwegian exports of goods,” it adds.