Background

This event is being organised to share the recent developments witnessed in India as regards implementation of new and innovative business models and mitigating options for financing barriers besides sharing of international experience in implementing Rooftop Solar (RTS) in SMEs and residential sector. The key takeaways from this event will encourage national and international stakeholders to adopt and adapt these business models to accelerate RTS implementation across developing nations.

SMEs and the residential consumers are the twin challenging beneficiaries / end users who can significantly benefit from Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) through Rooftop Solar solutions. “Prosumers” from SMEs and residential sector can achieve low cost of electricity and at the same time actively support the Distribution Companies in optimizing their cost of service besides improving the quality of power supply.

Government of India has made an impact in solarizing the residential consumers under its USD 1.6 bn incentives based Phase-II of RTS programme which was launched during August 2019. DISCOMs across the country adopted this Phase II programme and have facilitated installation over 1.5 GW of residential rooftop solar projects. Further DISCOMs have also received incentives from MNRE for demonstrating progress in yearly installations of rooftop solar projects.

To support the path laid by MNRE and to enable a holistic development of the ecosystem and in the light of challenges constraining RTS installations, the World Bank extended a concessional credit line of USD 625 Mn to State Bank of India (SBI) to finance RTS projects in India. So far, SBI has sanctioned USD 378Mn for a portfolio capacity of more than 600 MW projects in Commercial & Industrial segment including MSMEs.

With MSMEs contributing 30% of the GDP and roughly half of the exports through its 63 million units, their electricity cost is estimated to comprise up to 20% of total operating expenses. Solar Rooftop can significantly reduce the operational costs of MSMEs, thereby increasing their competitiveness. Despite this positive outlook, the current penetration of solar rooftop is only around 1GW against the significant realizable potential of 16-18 GW.

The low penetration of Solar Rooftop in MSMEs is due to several barriers, for instance, high upfront installation costs, inability to access debt due to low or no credit rating, regulatory uncertainty, and low awareness. Addressing these barriers can encourage adoption of solar rooftops by MSMEs.

The side event will feature MNRE, the World Bank, SBI, DISCOMs, Financing Institution / NBFC, International Experts who will share their rich experience and discuss potential key interventions that could enable an accelerated deployment of rooftop solar in India in these two key sectors.

Objectives

This Side Event will have the following primary objectives:

  • Progress on implementation of Rooftop Solar Program in India, financing and implementation
  • Discuss the emerging and successfully implemented business models in accelerating rooftop solar deployment in India
  • Challenges constraining uptake of rooftop solar by MSMEs and mitigating financial solutions and guarantee framework
  • International experience on successful business models for community rooftop solar implementation in residential sector

Agenda

Time (Manila) Activities
8:00 - 8:20 p.m. Welcome Remarks

  • Dr Amit Jain, Senior Energy Specialist, The World Bank
  • Amitabh Sinha, DGM – CPPD, SBI

Presentation on “New Business Models for Rooftop Solar Penetration in SMEs and Residential Sector”

  • Ms Mani Khurana, Senior Energy Specialist
  • Abhinav Goyal, Expert, The World Bank
8:20 - 8:35 p.m. Keynote Address

  • Amitabh Sinha,DGM – CPPD, SBI
8:35 - 9:15 p.m. Panel discussion with specialists on accelerating rooftop solar across residential and SMEs sectors
Panelists:

  • Abhishek Gupta, GM, EESL India
  • Samit Mitra, Director - Program Implementation, Smart Power India
  • Ameya Bijoor, Partner, Encourage Capital LLC
  • Edward Hoyt, Senior Global Practice Lead (Asia), Chemonics International
  • R J Vala, I/C Chief Engineer (Project), Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited
  • Sampath Kumar V S, Head, Business Development, Tata Cleantech Capital Ltd
  • Rajiv Kumar, General Manager, Cluster Development and Energy Efficiency Vertical, SIDBI

Moderated by: Nithyanandam Yuvaraj Dinesh Babu, Executive Director, EY

9:15 - 9:25 p.m. Grilling the experts: The Q&A session
9:25 - 9:30 p.m. Closing Remarks

  • Anand Upadhyay, EY

Speakers

About the Organizer

The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries with its mission being to end extreme poverty by reducing the share of the global population that lives in extreme poverty, to promote shared prosperity by increasing the incomes of the poorest in every country. With 189 member countries, staff from more than 170 countries, and offices in over 130 locations, the World Bank Group is a unique global partnership: five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries.

Point of Contact

Yuvaraj Dinesh Babu Nithyanandam
Ernst & Young India
Email