$23 Million World Bank Grant For India Rooftop Solar
Small-scale industries and end users in India unable to afford rooftop solar power projects may soon be able to raise debt from Indian banks following a grant from the World Bank.
According to media reports, the World Bank has issued a grant of almost $23 million to cover rooftop solar power funding for a riskier category of customers. The grant has been issued to India’s largest bank — State Bank of India. The Indian bank will use this grant to lend for rooftop solar power projects proposed by small-scale industries and homeowners.
The grant is part of the $625 million financial support program announced by the World Bank for India’s rooftop solar power sector.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy announced that the government managed to secure funding pledges from various multilateral and national development banks for its ambitious rooftop solar power program. The World Bank has committed $620 million, while the Asian Development Bank and BRICS New Development Bank have pledged to provide $500 million and $250 million, respectively. The German development bank KfW has provided $100 million, and negotiations for $1.14 billion worth of funding are underway, the ministry reported.
Last month, India also achieved the milestone of having 1 GW of operational rooftop solar power capacity. India has set a target of 40 GW of operational rooftop solar power capacity by March 2022. According to a recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, India requires a total investment of $50 billion to achieve this target.
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