India Project Update: Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Program

^{Project Approved: 13-May-2016; Effective: 28-Sep-2016; Closing: 30-Nov-2021}

^{Commitment Amount: $625 million}

^{Disbursed: 38%}

Project Context:

. Power shortages also affect economic output, with many industries and manufacturers relying on expensive and polluting diesel generators for back-up power supply.  Installing solar PV units on rooftops would be a cleaner and cheaper energy solution for these consumers. 

Until recently it was difficult to find affordable financing for this new market segment. .

The Project is being implemented by the State Bank of India (SBI), which has, with the help of the World Bank Group, developed new credit instruments for this segment.  . With this new lending, users are not only able to generate clean, reliable energy for their own use, but are also able to feed surplus electricity into the national grid.

Photo: World Bank

Progress:

.  This is in addition to 62 MW already being generated through rooftop units installed by several large enterprises.  These include large industrial units (Yamaha Motors, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd etc), transport utilities (Gurgaon Rapid Metro), and institutions (NOIDA Expo, Ashoka University, Fortis Hospital etc).

Next Steps:

Despite progress so far, many more consumers will need to make the switch to solar PV if the country is to meet its ambitious target of generating 40 GW energy from this segment by 2022.  :

• Accelerate three large projects amounting to $178.19 million which have been approved by SBI but are not yet operational.
• SBI to streamline internal processes regulating the flow of finance to meet feedback from clients.
• Engage a non-banking finance correspondent to deepen the reach of the program and include small and medium enterprises across the country.