Friday 7 October 2016

India receives $500m boost for rooftop solar

India will see an increase in the number of rooftop solar systems in the country, thanks to a £500 million funding.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing the money to support the government's plans to expand energy access using renewables.

Punjab National Bank - one of India’s largest commercial banks -  will use the fund to provide loans to developers and end users throughout the country to install rooftop solar panels.

The funding will also help India reach its target of installing 40GW of solar rooftop systems by 2022.

According to the ADB, the investment will help the nation reduce around 11 million tons of greenhouse gases during the 25-year lifetime of solar rooftop systems.

The announcement follows India's ratification of the Paris Agreement.

Anqian Huang, Finance Specialist in ADB's South Asia Department said: "There is 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. Sourcing more solar energy will also help India meet the carbon emissions reduction target that it has committed to as part of the recent global climate change agreement."