India’s Flagship Rooftop Solar Scheme Gets ADB’s Backing

The Indian government’s newly launched rooftop solar scheme Prime Minister Surya Ghar program has secured financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).  

The bank has approved $240.5 million in loans to finance rooftop solar systems to help expand access to renewable energy in the Asian nation.  

India launched the PM Surya Ghar program earlier this year to install 30 GW rooftop PV capacity, with INR 750 billion ($9 billion) outlay. Households participating in the scheme will get up to 300 units of free electricity/month and earn extra income by selling surplus to discoms (see India Eyeing 30 GW Rooftop Solar Capacity With New Scheme).  

ADB says this financing will support tranches 2 and 3 of the Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF) Solar Rooftop Investment Program that it approved in 2016. It was restructured last year to focus on deploying residential rooftop solar systems. 

The State Bank of India (SBI) will receive $90.5 million from ADB’s Clean Technology Fund (CTF), while the remaining $150 million will go to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). These 2 lenders will then provide loans from the facility to developers and end-users throughout the country. 

“India aims to achieve about 50% of cumulative electric power installed capacity from nonfossil fuel energy sources by 2030 in line with its global commitments to reduce carbon emissions,” said ADB Principal Energy Specialist, Kaoru Ogino. “ADB’s financing supports these goals and will contribute to the Prime Minister Surya Ghar program, which encourages people to install rooftop solar systems across the country.” 

Last year in January 2023, the ADB released 2 separate guidebooks detailing the role Indian utilities can play to increase the pace of rooftop solar installations in the country (see ADB’s Guidebook To Boost Rooftop Solar Adoption In India).