Asian Development Bank (ADB), a Multilateral lender will extend a USD 500 million to help India expand its renewable energy footprint loan for installing solar rooftop systems.
“ADB is set to provide $500 million in financing for rooftop solar systems that will help the Indian government expand energy access using renewable energy,” it said in a statement.
The financing combines USD 330 million from ADB and USD 170 million from the multi-donor Clean Technology Fund, administered by the funding agency.
“This funding should mean that 11 million fewer tonnes of greenhouse gases are emitted over the typical 25-year lifetime of solar rooftop systems,” said the ADB.
The funding will be channeled through state owned Punjab National Bank, that will use the ADB funds to tender loans to end-users and various developers across the country to set up solar rooftop systems.
“There is a huge potential for India to expand its use of solar rooftop technologies because of the sharp drop in the price of solar panels, meaning the cost of producing solar energy is at or close to that from fossil fuels,” said finance specialist in the ADB’s South Asia Department, Anqian Huang.
Sourcing more solar energy will also help India in meeting the target of carbon emissions reduction that it has committed to, as part of the recent global climate change agreement, Huang added.