ADB allocates $240.5m for India’s rooftop solar system

Loans will be accessible via the State Bank of India and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $240.5m loan to boost the rooftop solar systems in India, helping the country expand energy access and achieve its target of about 50% of cumulative electric power installed capacity from non fossil fuel energy sources by 2030. 

In a statement, ADB said this will back tranches 2 and 3 of the Multitranche Financing Facility Solar Rooftop Investment Program approved in 2016. This was restructured in 2023 to focus on deploying residential solar rooftop systems.

The loan will be made available to the State Bank of India (SBI) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to provide loans to developers and end-users throughout India to install rooftop solar systems. SBI will receive $90.5m from ADB's Clean Technology Fund (CTF) whilst NABARD will receive $150m, comprising $80m from the financial institution’s ordinary capital resources and $70m from CTF.

Rooftop solar systems have a number of benefits, including generating electricity close to where it is used. This reduces the need for long-distance power supply and resultant system losses.