India eyes $50bn World Solar Bank

India’s Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is hoping to persuade Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration government to set up a World Solar Bank to give members of the International Solar Alliance (IAS) – also an Indian initiative – access to affordable funding for solar power projects.
The news of the impending move was leaked to the press earlier this month and its timing, so soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi banned TikTok and more than 100 other popular Chinese apps, suggests that India is now looking to use its superiority in ‘green’ technology to emulate the soft power that China has been systematically accumulating in the Indian Ocean through its multi-billion-dollar One Belt One Road initiative.
Solar power Maharashtra In 2016, India was instrumental in the launch of the IAS, a treaty-based inter-governmental organization that has attracted 123 signatory countries with territories wholly or partially located between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, drawn by the promise of up to one trillion dollars in funding for solar-based power projects. Some analysts believe that the MNRE envisages the World Solar Bank becoming an alternative source of funding to the Chinese-backed AIIB and wants it to be capitalised to the tune of $10bn and $2bn in equity and paid-up capital respectively. This, it is being calculated, would give it the financial muscle to be able to disburse $50 billion in loans over the first ten years in operation.
In another development that is also being interpreted as an attempt to strengthen India’s presence in the Indian Ocean and to counter China’s influence in the region, the NTPC (India’s largest power generation utility) is in talks with Sri Lanka over the possibility of developing a solar power plant on the island – under the aegis of the IAS. NTPC also has plans to help Gambia and Malawi develop solar power parks and is exploring project management consultancy contracts in Sudan, Mozambique, Egypt, Uganda, Rwanda and Niger. It recently won contracts in Mali and Togo.

Solar Ascent

With one of the world’s lowest cost per MW of solar installation, India is turning to solar power in a big way, both home and abroad. By June 2020, installed capacity stood at just over 35GW, well ahead of a target of $100bn investment and 100GW of solar capacity by 2022. To date, rooftop solar power accounts for 2.1 GW, of which 70% is for industrial or commercial use. In tandem with its large-scale grid-connected (PV) strategy, India is developing off-grid solar power to meet local energy needs.

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India eyes $50bn World Solar Bank

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