The USA has announced a 150 million dollar financing for solar power in India.
The United States Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) announced the grant on September 28, 2011 to expand the use of solar energy to power telecommunication towers in India.
An OPIC release said the project will significantly reduce CO 2 emissions and create jobs in both the United States and India. OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield said it will support India's ambitions to shift to a less carbon-intensive economy.
The OPIC loan will be used by Applied Solar Technologies (AST) to supplement cellular towers' diesel-powered generators with solar hybrid energy systems. These systems use proprietary controllers to integrate and optimize usage through photovoltaic technology, electricity from the electric grid, a battery bank charged by solar panels, and existing generators.
Tower companies in India are working to reduce their dependence on site-situated diesel powered generator sets also because tower operators in remote areas lack access to the electrical grid.
The project comes in a series of similar ones funding husk power in Bihar, azure power in Punjab, the India-wide South Asia clean energy fund, and two other renewable resources investment funds.
