World Bank commits $1 billion for India's solar-energy programme

New Delhi: The World Bank Group signed an agreement with the International Solar Alliance (ISA), consisting of 121 countries led by India, and committed to provide $1 billion in support to Indian solar energy projects.

The World Bank-supported projects include solar rooftop technology, infrastructure for solar parks, bringing innovative solar and hybrid technologies to market, and transmission lines for solar-rich states. The cumulative investment in India's solar sector would be World Bank’s largest financing in this sector, so far, for any country in the world, it said in a media statement.

The ISA was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris on November 30, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande. Through ISA, India aims to collaborate with global agencies and mobilise around $1 trillion of investment in solar energy by 2030.

The agreement was signed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of State with Independent charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.

“India’s plans to virtually triple the share of renewable energy by 2030 will both transform the country’s energy supply and have far-reaching global implications in the fight against climate change,” said Kim. He also said that this agreement with the ISA would help mobilise a global movement toward a climate-friendly future. 

As part of the agreement, the World Bank Group will develop a road-map to mobilise financing for development and deployment of affordable solar energy, and work with other multilateral development banks and financial institutions to develop financing instruments to support solar energy development.

The World Bank also signed an agreement to pump funds close to $625 million for the Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Program under the National Solar Mission. The project will finance the installation of around 400 megawatt of solar photovoltaic power projects. The development of a $200 million shared infrastructure for Solar Parks Project under a public-private partnership model is also under preparation, said World Bank.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.