Que: Could you provide an overview of the collaboration between the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) that aims to foster solar energy adoption in Asia and the Pacific? Additionally, could you highlight some notable projec

Ans: ISA has been engaging actively with South Asian Countries and partner organizations to scale up various solar energy solutions ranging from small-scale applications to large grid-connected projects. One of the key pillars of ISA's engagement with the South Asian countries has been ADB's USD 2 Million Knowledge and Support Technical Assistance (KSTA), under the ISA-ADB partnership framework that supports the six South Asian countries, which include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The KSTA focuses on the identification and development of solar energy projects pipeline, evaluating innovative financing instruments for scaling solar deployment and capacity building & knowledge support, amongst others.

To lay the foundation for the identification of potential project pipelines across different solar segments in these six South Asian countries, the ISA and ADB have also initiated regional scoping studies under the KSTA. These studies include developing a blueprint for financial interventions and risk mitigation, solar applications in the health sector and solar water pumping systems. In addition, a scoping study for floating solar PV projects is also being planned. These scoping studies are aimed at assessing the scope for engagements across various solar PV segments, analysing the enabling policy and regulatory framework, and assessing viable business models through innovative financing and risk-mitigating instruments. The studies could, thus, serve as a comprehensive knowledge exchange product within and beyond the South Asian region.

Below are some examples of the projects that have been implemented under the ISA-ADB partnership:

Scaling Solar Pumps in South Asia
The scoping study for scaling solar pumps in South Asia is being undertaken in partnership with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). With the irrigation economy increasingly being put under pressure by rising diesel costs, unsustainable farm power subsidies, and growing public and private support for renewable energy (RE), solar pumps have a bright future in South Asia. We estimate that South Asia holds a potential for more than 30 million solar pumps – most of which will be deployed for use in agriculture. At current average costs (USD 800 per kWp) and an average pump size of 5 kWp for irrigation and 1 kWp for domestic use, the estimated market value is roughly USD 120 billion. Current trends also suggest that solarization of South Asian agriculture is no longer a choice, only its pace is, and this pace can be accelerated through smartly designed initiatives supported by ADB and ISA.

Solarizing of Healthcare Facilities in South Asia

ISA and ADB have conducted a study on strengthening the primary healthcare system in South Asia (six countries mentioned above) through solar-based solutions. The study assessed the overall health sector profile of these countries, identified existing gaps in terms of access to modern energy services, and estimated the solarization potential in the primary health sector.

ISA Solar Financing Facility for Scaling Solar in South Asia

The ISA and ADB are partnering in designing the Global Solar Facility and developing interventions that can be deployed for scaling up the solar sector in the six South Asian countries mentioned above. The Global Solar Facility is envisaged to be a multi-country, multi-segment facility with a focus on addressing key financing challenges.

Que: Could you shed some light on the potential of green hydrogen in India?

Ans: India, with its high spending on oil imports (over USD 90 billion) and competitive Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for solar and wind, sees green hydrogen as a promising alternative to reduce fossil fuel dependence and transition towards a low-carbon economy.

India has established green hydrogen as a core pillar of its decarbonization and net zero strategy. India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission adopted in 2022, acts as a policy enabler to attain its climate targets and become a hub for green hydrogen and green ammonia production. India aims to achieve a production capacity of 5 MMT per year by 2030 with the addition of 125 GW of renewable capacity for this usage. This initiative is expected to result in a reduction of 50 MMT of CO2 emissions and generate over 6 lakh new jobs.

The GH Mission targets to reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels and scale up its renewable energy capacity by setting up green hydrogen production facilities and bringing down the cost of green hydrogen. India’s geographical location, climatic conditions, and abundance of renewable energy resources make it a favourable location for producing green hydrogen at low prices in the coming years. India being a fast-developing nation with a surging energy demand, offers a large potential for high-density energy carriers like green hydrogen and its derivatives, especially as the country traverses on its trajectory of decarbonization and net zero emissions by the year 2070. The green hydrogen produced in the country would be key to decarbonizing the hard-to-abate sectors, such as fertilizers, steel, and cement.

Que: Could you shed some light on the potential of green hydrogen in India?

Ans: India, with its high spending on oil imports (over USD 90 billion) and competitive Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for solar and wind, sees green hydrogen as a promising alternative to reduce fossil fuel dependence and transition towards a low-carbon economy.

India has established green hydrogen as a core pillar of its decarbonization and net zero strategy. India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission adopted in 2022, acts as a policy enabler to attain its climate targets and become a hub for green hydrogen and green ammonia production. India aims to achieve a production capacity of 5 MMT per year by 2030 with the addition of 125 GW of renewable capacity for this usage. This initiative is expected to result in a reduction of 50 MMT of CO2 emissions and generate over 6 lakh new jobs.

The GH Mission targets to reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels and scale up its renewable energy capacity by setting up green hydrogen production facilities and bringing down the cost of green hydrogen. India’s geographical location, climatic conditions, and abundance of renewable energy resources make it a favourable location for producing green hydrogen at low prices in the coming years. India being a fast-developing nation with a surging energy demand, offers a large potential for high-density energy carriers like green hydrogen and its derivatives, especially as the country traverses on its trajectory of decarbonization and net zero emissions by the year 2070. The green hydrogen produced in the country would be key to decarbonizing the hard-to-abate sectors, such as fertilizers, steel, and cement.

Que: Tell us about the 'Solar for Green Hydrogen' programme of ISA along with its objectives. How is it helping the countries to realize the full potential of green hydrogen?

Ans: Hydrogen is being seen as one of the key enablers for achieving global climate targets and realizing net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. The important thing is that hydrogen be produced from renewable energy sources. Solar energy remains one of the most attractive renewable resources for green hydrogen (GH) production on account of rapidly falling CAPEX due to scale and, consequent lower cost of electricity to be used for electrolysis. The cost of electrolyzers is also dropping due to increased demand, and we can expect to see a virtuous cycle of development and deployment, driving down the cost of green hydrogen by increasing the scale of production.

ISA is an intergovernmental collaborative platform with a mandate to support the increased deployment of solar energy across its 116 member countries. ISA has identified four key pillars of support to its membership: Analytics & Advocacy support, Capacity Building & Ecosystem Readiness support, Programmatic Support, and Risk mitigation instruments to support investment mobilization. ISA’s support to its membership under the ‘Solar for Green Hydrogen’ program, launched at the Fourth Assembly of the ISA, in 2021, is envisaged to intersect each of the above four pillars, as per the readiness level of a member country.

ISA’s role will be to assess and facilitate the Solar Hydrogen readiness level of the member countries, which includes framing supporting policies and regulations and creating an investment environment so that the members are ready to identify investment opportunities in commercially viable solar-hydrogen systems. At the COP-27 in Egypt, ISA launched two reports on green hydrogen. The first, prepared jointly with the Asian Development Bank, proposed a framework for GH ecosystem readiness assessment in ISA member countries. The second report, prepared jointly with the European Investment Bank, and African Union, focussed on Africa and found enormous GH potential, especially in four African hubs – Mauritania, Morocco, Southern Africa, and Egypt.

Recently ISA, in partnership with the G20 India Presidency and with support from ADB, has created a virtual Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre (GHIC) that will support the production, utilization, and trade of green hydrogen, besides providing a platform for knowledge sharing and building competency across the GH value chain. The GHIC will also provide opportunities to incubate start-ups, provide certified training, and host Expert Working Groups to support the scale-up of the green hydrogen ecosystem in member countries. This AI-integrated platform will serve as a dynamic one-stop gateway to provide access to the GH knowledge repository, country insights, developments in hydrogen space, global initiatives and missions, skill development, and community engagement.

Que: What are the potential risks and challenges in deployment of green hydrogen? What could be the possible solutions?

Ans: Although green hydrogen holds immense potential, there are certain challenges in achieving large-scale deployment. The major ones are economic viability and financing. The green hydrogen value chain is both complex and capital-intensive, and many segments are still in a nascent stage. The global electrolyzer manufacturing capacity is very small compared to the total expected demand. Other barriers such as lack of a robust carbon pricing mechanism, lack of monitoring and reporting framework for Green House Gas accounting, regulatory gaps, lack of global standards, and lack of adequate incentives, must be addressed to ensure the scalability and sustainability of the GH market.

To address these challenges and unlock the true potential of green hydrogen, countries need to:
o Set a national vision and build strategic partnerships
o Strengthen regulations
o Improve access to low-cost financing
o Improve integration with global supply chain to produce, transport, and distribute to end users
o Support innovation and skills

Que: In your opinion, what is the role of solar power in reducing carbon footprint? How far has India come on the solar front regarding the ambitious clean energy goal?

Ans: : Solar power plays a major role in reducing carbon footprint. Solar panels convert sunlight to energy, and this energy is used to power commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential consumers. This not only reduces the dependence on fossil fuels but also brings energy independence to the respective consumers.

The Indian solar energy journey began with the launch of the National Solar Mission (NSM) in 2010. NSM is an initiative of the Government of India with active participation from states to promote ecologically sustainable growth while addressing India’s energy security challenges. The mission had a target to install 100 GW of solar energy generation capacity by 2022. India updated its solar energy targets to 280 GW by 2030 as part of its announced commitments during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). The total solar potential in India is assessed to be about 748 GW assuming 3% of the waste land area to be covered by solar PV modules. Solar power installed capacity has reached around 70 GW now and India stands 4th in solar PV deployment across the globe. Presently, solar tariff in India is very competitive and has achieved grid parity.