The largest public sector lender of the country, State Bank of India is the first entity from financial services segment to enter into green power by setting up windmills.

The bank has moved forward towards green energy so as to become energy neutral in the upcoming years, the bank said in a statement.

It has undertaken the initiative as a tie up with wind energy giant, Suzlon Energy. The initiative reached completion in four months.

The bank said that it has decided that in the first phase it would install 10 windmills in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to generate power for selected branches in these states.

The second phase would depend on results generated in first phase and based on that the bank would install more windmills. Discussions for the same have already begun with regulatory bodies regarding clearance, it said.

The banking major is in talks with the Gujarat Energy Development Authority to permit it to install additional 20-mw capacity wind mills in the state, it added.

The bank has also started pilot study in land, energy and water, waste, air and carbon management to establish carbon emission baselines, develop benchmarks and work on economically feasible ecological solutions for implementation with the help of external consultants, it said.