The Government of India, Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), and the World Bank today signed agreements for a $150 million IBRD loan, a $28 million Clean Technology Fund (CTF) loan and a $22 million CTF grant to help India increase its power generation capacity through cleaner, renewable energy sources. The agreement underscores the Government of India’s commitment to achieve 500 giga-watts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030 in order to address the challenges of climate change.
The agreement was signed by Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of India; C. Kannan, Director Finance, on behalf of SECI; and Hideki Mori, Operations Manager & Acting Country Director, India, World Bank.
“India’s transition to renewable sources of energy is one of the most critical transitions for its future,” said Hideki Mori. “The World Bank is committed to supporting India during this transition. This project will bring in international experience in deploying new technologies to the sector and support India’s progress in adopting cleaner, renewable energy fuels.”
The Project aims to address constraints in commercial investments in this sector through increasing the confidence of the various stakeholders. The Project will also help SECI increase market uptake by addressing the barriers to deploying new technologies at scale.
The first solar subproject is being constructed by Battery Energy Solar Systems (BESS) in Rajnandgaon district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The second subproject which will have floating solar panels is ongoing at the Getalsud reservoir in the state of Jharkhand.
India currently has an installed capacity of more than 409 GW, of which the renewable energy (non-hydro) share is almost 29 percent (119.5 GW). The project will accelerate India’s progress towards sustainable universal electricity access, which is a key milestone for achieving inclusive economic development objectives.
