WORLD BANK FUNDS INDIA’S 1ST THIN FILM PLANT

IFC Supports India’s First Large-Scale Thin-Film Solar Plant to Promote Clean Energy
June 9, 2011 (International Finance Corporation)

"IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is investing $4 million in India’s Sapphire Industrial Infrastructures Private Limited to implement the country’s first large-scale grid-connected thin-film solar plant, which will…provide additional electricity to about 11,000 people.

"IFC’s investment in Sapphire Industrial Infrastructures, subsidiary of Moser Baer Clean Energy Limited, will support construction of the 5-megawatt solar plant at Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu, a southern state in India. The plant, with a capacity of 8 million units of power a year, is expected to avoid approximately 6,600 metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions annually…"

India's policy supports the investment (click to enlarge)

"Until recently, grid-connected solar electricity received limited interest from private sector due to higher initial investment and generation costs than conventional energy sources."

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[Anita George, Director for Infrastructure in Asia, IFC:] "…The successful commissioning of this first large-scale thin film solar photovoltaic plant demonstrates private sector's ability to rise to the challenges associated with achieving a balanced energy mix…It also confirms the availability of the right technical expertise and the requisite financial capacity in the market for successfully delivering projects in this sector in India."

"IFC acted as an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility to support thin-film technology in India. The Global Environment Facility is a network of international institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and private sector that provide funding to address global environmental issues. The Global Environment Facility has provided $30 million in concessional funds to IFC, as a part of the Photovoltaic Market Transformation Initiative, to encourage market development for photovoltaics."