Mumbai, India, November 19, 2014
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group,
in partnership with the Norwegian Trust Fund for Private Sector and Infrastructure, today launched a white paper
highlighting how developing countries can help meet growing energy demands with environmentally-friendly, grid-connected, rooftop solar photovoltaic technologies.
The white paper,
Harnessing Energy from the Sun,
was launched by Tarun Kapoor, the Joint Secretary for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy at Intersolar India. It
will create awareness among stakeholders - including policy makers, utilities, and regulators - of the opportunities and challenges of the rooftop solar market.
“Reliable, sustainable electricity is absolutely essential to help India reach its development goals,” said Tarun Kapoor at the launch. “Tapping our natural and sustainable energy sources like solar and hydro can make the country more self-reliant in energy.”
The white paper draws lessons from selected global experiences in designing and implementing rooftop solar business models. It identifies success drivers and potential challenges in implementing these projects and provides an overview of the nascent market in India.
“lndia's energy sector is the world's fourth largest in installed capacity, yet there is a large, unmet demand for electricity across the country,” said
Rajendra Nimje, Managing Director, Solar Energy Corporation of India
.
“IFC’s white paper is a timely and valuable guide detailing how successful collaborations can develop the rooftop solar market to meet energy needs of future generations.”
Harnessing the sun’s energy has several advantages over other forms of electricity generation: it reduces dependence on fossil fuel; has limited environmental impact; and can match peak supply with peak demand. It also enables production of electricity where it is needed the most: at consumer locations, which almost eliminates transmission losses.
While national and state policies have successfully kick-started the development of utility-scale solar power projects in India, the small-scale segment is still at an early stage.
A successful initiative
in Gandhinagar
by the Government of Gujarat, in collaboration with the private sector and IFC, has d
emonstrated the viability of rooftop solar systems
. I
FC also supports the replication of this initiative in five other cities across Gujarat. The project will
serve as a model for replication across India.
“This white paper looks at the Gujarat rooftop solar program to showcase how a public-private partnership approach can effectively bring policymakers, regulatory bodies, investors, and utilities together to devise feasible frameworks,” said Isabel Chatterton, Manager,
Public Private Partnerships Advisory Services, IFC South Asia.
The
Harnessing Energy from the Sun
white paper is available
here
.
Intersolar India is the country’s largest conference and exhibition for the solar industry, held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC), Mumbai every year. The event’s exhibition and conference focus on photovoltaics, PV production technologies, energy storage, and solar thermal technologies.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in about 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, we provided more than $22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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