Finland keen on renewable energy push to UP cities
LUCKNOW: Finland wants to transform the cities in Uttar Pradesh into smart cities by investing in renewable energy, bioenergy, other emission-free energy sources and electric vehicles.
A Finnish delegation led by Kimmo Tiilikainen, minister for housing, energy and environment, government of Finland, was in Lucknow on Tuesday to look for investment opportunities in the state.
Nina Vaskunlahti, ambassador of Finland to India, was also present here along with representatives of more than 20 Finish companies.
The state government was represented by industry minister Satish Mahana and energy minister Srikant Sharma. The FICCI hosted the event.
“UP is a vast market. We want to help its cities get smart by providing our expertise in renewable energy like solar, wind and biogas. We can also make buildings energy efficient and improve public transportation,” said Kimmo adding, We can also help the UP government cut down its energy loss.”
He also said, “Several Finnish companies are already working with India. Their experience has been good. We are hopeful of building lasting relationship with the UP government too.”
The smart city project is among the pet projects of PM Narendra Modi. From UP, 13 cities have been selected for the project.
Mahana said, “It will be a privilege for UP to collaborate with Finland. We can benefit from its expertise in technology.” Besides, Srikant Sharma said, “UP has 38 m households out of which 20 mm have power connections. In next two years, UP government will provide electricity to the remaining households,” Sharma said.