The New Development Bank, a multilateral lender formerly known as the BRICS Development Bank, will provide $811 million in a first round of loans for clean energy projects in four nations.

Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social will receive the biggest credit, worth $300 million to help build 600 megawatts of renewable energy capacity, the New Development Bank said Monday in an e-mail reply to questions. The bank will also provide a $250 million loan to India’s Canara Bank, with $75 million earmarked for 500 megawatts of renewable-energy projects.

The New Development Bank, which started in Shanghai last year, is made up of BRICS member nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The bank has said clean energy will be part of its core focus.

South Africa’s Eskom Holdings also secured a loan of $180 million for power lines that can transmit 670 megawatts and transform 500 megawatts of renewable energy generation. China’s Shanghai Lingang Hongbo New Energy Development Co. also got an $81 million loan, approved by the bank’s board of directors last week, to fund 100 megawatts of rooftop solar power

The loans will run 12 to 20 years. More plans are at various stages of consideration in the development bank’s pipeline, including loans to Russia, according to the e-mail.

Source: Bloomberg