To expand its partnership with Sri Lanka, India extended a $100 million (USD) Line of Credit to help the island nation finance various projects in the solar energy sector. The objective of this partnership is that Sri Lanka can meet at least 70% of its electricity demands by renewable energy by 2030.
For this Credit, the Sri Lankan government and the Export-Import Bank of India have signed an agreement. This agreement was signed in presence of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said in a tweet, “A glorious new chapter in the multi-faceted partnership between India and Sri Lanka! An agreement extending US$ 100 million Line of Credit to #lka for solar energy projects was exchanged today in the presence of Hon’ble President H E @GotabayaR @MFA_SriLanka @PresRajapaksa.”

The High Commission stated, “This USD 100 million Line Of Credit will help finance various projects in the solar energy sector in Sri Lanka, including those announced during the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) held in March 2018, such as rooftop solar photovoltaic systems for households and government buildings.
India becomes the first country to partner with Sri Lanka in fulfilling the vision of the President of Sri Lanka to ensure that 70% of Sri Lanka’s national power requirements are fulfilled by renewable energy sources by 2030, as reiterated during his address at the recently concluded Sri Lanka Investment Forum.”

The total number of countries, that have signed the framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance, is 89 including Srilanka. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former French president Francois Hollande had launched the International Solar Alliance to bring together more & more countries and promote the large-scale deployment of solar energy, which will solve the technology, finance, and capacity-related challenges to every country & will make the environment pollution-free.

As per the statement, “The shared vision of our countries in the renewable energy sector reflects our common national priorities and convergence of approaches for sustainable development. Strengthening collaboration in this vital sector will help enhance our overall energy partnership and contribute to our global efforts to tackle climate change and reduce emissions.”

If we saw the generation rate of solar energy in India from the past 7 years, that increased rapidly. It was 2.6 GW in March 2014, & now it significantly to reach 34.6 GW in 2021. The National Solar Mission of India aims to reach 100 GW or beyond.

President Rajapaksa said in a statement, “Sri Lanka is going green, and we are working extensively to make it happen. Today, we formalized the agreement on the Line of Credit worth USD 100 Million between Sri Lanka and the Export & Import Bank of India. Steadily, we’re getting closer to the goal of 70% renewable energy by 2030.”

According to the officials, this plan would facilitate measures that have been taken to increase the contribution of renewable energy sources to the national power grid.

The government is planning to generate solar power by obtaining the contribution of state-owned buildings, places of worship, and houses of low-income families.

Steps will also be taken to provide facilities to store solar energy in batteries for the low-income families that are unable to access the national power grid.

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