17 December 2017, Washington – India’s ultra-mega solar project will come up for discussion at the One Planet Summit in France this week, World Bank PresidentJim Yong Kim has said.
The ultra-mega solar power projects, also known as ultra mega solar parks, are a series of solar power projects planned by India to enhance its capacity from 20,000 MW to 40,000 MW.
“Among one of the major projects that we’re putting on the table at the summit is a ultra-mega project in India for solar,” Kim said in response to a question.
In an interaction with reporters on bank’s continuing work on climate change mitigation and its efforts at helping developing countries implement the Paris Agreement, Kim said he and the World Bank has worked very closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I am very optimistic about what could happen with renewable energy (in India),” Kim told reporters in a conference call ahead of the summit.
Noting that Modi is very personal, very public and very strong support of moving India to a lower carbon renewable energy future, Kim said the Indian leader has made a very ambitious target for India to reduce its carbon intensity.
“Especially in the areas of solar and hydro, India is really leading. The Solar Alliance that Prime Minister Modi is spearheading has also been extremely important,” Kim said.
But there is still a lot of work to do, he observed. “I think the Indian government is very much aware of that.”
India and France had jointly launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on the sidelines of the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015.
Its goal is to facilitate large-scale deployment of solar energy in 121 countries in the area between the tropics by aggregating the demand for funding, technology and innovation.
Kim said there are two most encouraging things for India.
ET Energy World