The board of World Bank has approved a $625 million loan to support the central government’s programme to generate electricity from rooftop solar power plants.
The board also approved a co-financing loan of $120 million on concessional terms and a $5 million grant from the Climate Investment Fund’s Clean Technology Fund, the global development bank said in a statement on Monday.
The statement added that the sanctions will help finance installation of at least 400 MW of grid connected rooftop solar photovoltaic projects across India. “These installations will provide clean, renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by displacing thermal generation. The project will also strengthen the capacity of key institutions and support the development of overall solar photovoltaic market,” the statement said.
State Bank of India will on-lend funds to solar photovoltaic developers and end-users who wish to invest in mainly commercial and industrial rooftop solar power systems. The financing will be provided to those with sound technical capacity, relevant experience and creditworthiness as per State Bank of India’s standards.
“India is endowed with huge solar energy potential and the World Bank is strongly supportive of the government’s plans to harness this potential,” said Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India.
“Today, the only available option for those who want to install the solar photovoltaic is to pay the entire cost up-front. The variety of financing mechanism on offer under this programme will represent a major innovation for the rooftop market,” said Mohua Mukherjee, Senior Energy Specialist and World Bank’s Task Team Leader for the project.