Financial Interventions for Scaling-up Solar in Emerging Economies
Channel: Sankalp Forum
Date: 10/11/2022

Around a billion people living in the emerging economies of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa continue to struggle with poor access to electricity. These countries are traditionally characterized by insufficient power generation capacity, poor transmission and distribution infrastructure, high cost of supply to remote areas, and lack of affordability for electricity. The need for universal energy access and energy transition, therefore, presents a large opportunity for renewable energy deployment in the regions. Of the existing renewable energy technologies, solar energy has become a preferred route for energy transition owing to its cost-effectiveness, proven track record, multiple use cases, low gestation period, and ease of installation.
As the solar energy market matures, it is critical to provide financial and technical assistance to stakeholders in these countries. Meanwhile, for smaller countries such as Maldives, setting up policy frameworks and regulatory mechanisms will be crucial along with building a project pipeline. It is estimated that over USD 10 billion would be required over the next 3-4 years for scaling-up solar power technologies in these countries. Development financial institutions such as The World Bank, ADB, International Solar Alliance, GIZ, among others, can play a critical role in mobilizing the required financial and technical support to enable greater deployment of solar power technologies such as rooftop solar, solar home systems, solar mini grids, etc. which are yet to be scaled up effectively.