Enviro News Asia, Washington – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a financing package to accelerate India’s national solar rooftop program, aiming to bring clean energy to millions of homes, create 1.7 million job opportunities, and unlock billions in private capital across the renewable energy value chain.
The financing package totals $890 million, comprising an $820 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a $60 million concessional loan from the Clean Technology Fund, and a $10 million grant from IBRD’s Livable Planet Fund. The World Bank will also mobilize an additional $4.2 billion in private commercial financing to enable households to install solar rooftops.
India has committed to achieving net zero by 2070 and increasing non-fossil-fuel-based energy resources to 60 percent of its electricity mix by 2035. While large-scale solar has grown rapidly, residential adoption has remained limited. To address this, the Government of India established the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana program to incentivize solar rooftop installation for 10 million rural and urban households, reduce household electricity costs, and encourage local manufacturing of solar equipment.
“The World Bank has been supporting India’s solar rooftop sector for over a decade, mobilizing more than $2 billion to catalyze market growth from 500 MW to over 27 GW of installed capacity. This new financing will help India scale up residential solar, while creating job opportunities across the supply chain and installation ecosystem,” said World Bank Acting Country Director for India Paul Proccee.
Task Team Leader Moez Cherif said the program will transform the residential solar market by removing financial barriers and building the capacity of distribution companies, banks, and vendors to deliver integrated service solutions. “Through collateral-free financing, households can install solar power and significantly reduce their monthly electricity bills,” he said. (*)
