Glitnir to open up geothermal energy in India

Nordic bank Glitnir is joining forces with Indian energy company Bhilwara to build the first ever geothermal energy power stations in India and Nepal.

Glitnir investment bank and leading Indian energy company LNJ Bhilwara Group last week signed an agreement to develop geothermal energy power plants in India and Nepal.

Glitnir will provide its expertise in geothermal energy as well as its experience in financing geothermal development projects. The LNJ Bhilwara Group will act as local developer and manager of the project. Both partners will work together on formulating the business plan and project details.

“This [agreement] will encourage prospects for growth in India in the geothermal arena,” said Mr. P Chidambaram, the Indian Finance Minister. “I am confident they will be successful; India is a vast country with a various untapped resources like geothermal. India has planned $475 billion investments in the next five years, out of which $120 - $130 billion will be achieved through foreign direct investments.”

The Managing Director of Sustainable Energy at Glitnir, Arni Magnusson, said, "India is a very exciting market for Glitnir, especially in the energy field. Given the projected growth of energy demand in India, India needs all sources of energy, especially renewable and green sources of energy like geothermal.”

“Glitnir successfully implemented a project in China where we brought expertise and funded the project to heat a district in the Xian Yang province in China,” commented Magnus Bjarnason, Vice President of Glitnir International Banking. “We believe similar projects can be developed in India”.

The Bhilwara Group has extensive experience of hydro power in India through its development of a large number of hydro power plants in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as in neighbouring Nepal. The group is further diversifying into green energy, with a recent project to build a 4.2 MW wind power plant in Jaisalmer, and is now pursuing development of geothermal energy in India and Nepal.
Glitnir is a leading corporate investment bank that focuses on the geothermal energy industry as one of three global niche sectors.The Nordic bank is also looking at two other sectors in India - seafood and offshore supply vessels - with an eye to forging investment partnerships with small and medium-sized Indian businesses.
Visit Glitnir Bank´s website at www.glitnirbank.com for more information on Glitnir and geothermal energy.

Contact Information

Árni Magnússon

Managing Director

Glitnir Bank

Contact via E-mail