Solar Sector to Get $1 Trillion Power-Up From World Bank
The World Bank wants to mobilise $1 trillion in investments to increase solar energy use around the world.
In collaboration with the International Solar Alliance (ISA), the World Bank says it wants to raise the substantial amount by 2030.
As part of an agreement signed last week (30 June), the World Bank will give the solar alliance access to its global development network and its “knowledge and financing capacity.” The India-headquartered ISA was established at last year’s climate change summit in Paris and is made up of 121 countries.
“We cannot afford to lose momentum, because with each passing day, the climate challenge grows. Record hot days and months have now become the new norm,” said World Bank president Jim Yong Kim earlier at the 2016 Climate Action summit.
$1 Billion For India
The World Bank also announced that it plans to provide more than $1 billion to support India’s ambitious national solar energy initiatives. Projects under preparation include solar rooftop installations, infrastructure for solar parks, bringing innovative solar and hybrid technologies to market, and transmission lines for India’s solar-rich states.
These solar investments for India combined would be the bank’s largest financing of solar energy for any country in the world – ever.
“India’s plans to virtually triple the share of renewable energy by 2030 will both transform the country’s energy supply and have far-reaching global implications in the fight against climate change,” Jim Yong Kim said in a statement about the agreement.
#India is training youth for many jobs–including personal trainers who gave me tips! Impressed w skills center here.https://t.co/BPgDYKd22v
— Archive: World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim (@JimYongKimWBG) June 29, 2016
‘Ultra-Mega’ Solar Power Project
The World Bank is already supporting the government of the state of Madhya Pradesh – nicknamed the “heart of India” because of its location – to set up a 750 megawatt ‘ultra-mega’ solar power project, the largest single-site solar power project in the world.
In May, India and the World Bank already signed an agreement for the country’s $625 million Grid Connected Rooftop Solar programme. This project will finance the installation of at least 400 megawatt of solar installations to provide clean, renewable energy.
The development of a $200 million Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks project under a public-private partnership model is also under preparation, the World Bank said.
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