Private sector lender Yes Bank on Monday entered into a year-long pact with Australian firm Windlab Systems to operate in India's renewable energy sector.

Under the agreement, Yes Bank will act as a strategic and financial advisor to Windlab and would identify potential joint venture partners for the company to operate in domestic wind-energy market, Yes Bank Group President Corporate Finance and Development Banking Somak Ghosh said.

"In the next 18 months, we expect to set up four joint venture partnerships for Windlab. We have identified the players. These four projects would have a total capacity of 200 mega watts and a total investment of nearly Rs 1,000 crore," Ghosh said.

Each project would have a minimum capacity of 50 mega watts, Ghosh said, adding, "the bank would also finance some of these projects through the debt route."

He, however, declined to divulge names of four companies shortlisted for the joint ventures.

The bank also expects to make the first investment from its $300 million Clean Energy/Clean Technology Fund, in which Global Environment Fund is a partner by the end of fiscal 2009, Ghosh said.

Nearly 45 per cent of the bank's revenues came from fee income in the first quarter of fiscal 2009, 26 per cent of which alone came from the financial advisory services business, he said.