Solar Alliance in pact with European development bank

Gurugram, Nov 2 : The International Solar Alliance (ISA) here signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Thursday to strengthen cooperation in mobilising finance for green energy.

The Joint Financial Partnership Declaration was signed in the presence of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti, among others, a Finance Ministry statement said here.

Jaitley urged both the signing parties to innovate a "dynamic mechanism for credit enhancement and risk mitigation in the solar sector," the statement said.

The Finance Minister urged more multilateral and development banks to join hands with the ISA to "help fulfil the objectives of massive and affordable deployment of solar among the 121 ISA member countries," it added.

The Gurugram-headquartered ISA was launched in November 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande during the COP21 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.

"The EBRD and the ISA wish to deepen cooperation in support of renewable energy, and declared their intention to promote solar energy within the countries where both operate," the UK-headquartered EBRD said in a statement.

"The two parties have agreed to collaborate and exchange information in recognition of their mutual goal of fostering sustainable development," it said.

According to the Indian ministry, the EBRD is keen to increase its green financing portfolio to 40 per cent of its annual business.

Jaitley also noted the financial partnership collaboration that the ISA has entered into with the World Bank.

In this connection, state-run State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday announced the sanction of loans worth Rs 2,317 crore in collaboration with the World Bank to finance grid-connected solar rooftop projects in the country. The has availed line of credit facilities worth $625 million from World Bank for onward lending to viable solar rooftop projects.

The seven companies sanctioned loans are JSW Energy, Hinduja Renewables, Tata Renewable Energy, Adani Group, Azure Power, Cleantech Solar and Hero Solar Energy.