The rooftop solar adoption in India is getting a strong green finance boost.
State Bank of India (SBI), the largest lender in the nation, will sign a $165 million Line of Credit (LoC) with The World Bank.
Through the LoC, SBI will support grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic projects in the residential and institutional sectors.
SBI is planning to make it mandatory for builders to make rooftop solar installations if the project is funded from the bank’s green funds. Ashwini Kumar Tewari, Managing Director in charge of International Banking, Information Technology, and Associates and Subsidiaries, SBI, said that the bank is raising its exposure to green initiatives, including funding green buildings, battery recycling, and solar plans, among others.
SBI is planning to make it a bundled deal for home loan applicants in the coming years.
It must be noted that SBI recently signed a LoC worth Rs 1,800 crore and Rs 630 crore with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the German Development Bank KfW to support climate action and solar projects in the country.
The bank had in September announced that it plans to mandate rooftop solar installations on home loans for residential projects funded by its long-term climate action funds.