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SoftBank invests $20bn in India solar energy

SoftBank is to take part in a plan to deliver 20GW of solar capacity and set India on its way to becoming a leader in the renewables market

Tokyo-based SoftBank is giving India's energy sector a new lease of life with an investment that will see the country's renewable sector vastly improved

Tokyo-based telecoms and internet giant SoftBank will join Foxconn and Bharti Enterprises as part of a $20bn solar energy project designed to generate an additional 20GW of capacity. The joint venture falls in step with plans set out recently by prime minister Narendra Modi to improve the nation’s access to clean and reliable energy, particularly for the 300 million people living in energy poverty.

Modi set out a five-year $160bn plan recently to boost renewables

Modi set out a five-year $160bn plan recently to boost renewables, spearheaded by the government and in part by enterprises much like SoftBank. With this and other projects in the pipeline, India’s solar market is on course to expand 250 percent in 2015, that’s according to SoftBank, while the global market is set to outpace the growth in fossil fuels. Yet India’s solar capacity stands at a mere 3.7GW, despite the country’s irradiation levels, rising population and lack of fossil fuel resources lending themselves well to solar development.

“Our eyes are trained on India, given the vast potential that the country offers”, said SoftBank’s chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son. “With this partnership, our goal is to create a market-leading ‎clean energy company, to fuel India’s growth with clean and renewable sources of energy. We have joined hands with Bharti Enterprises and Foxconn, two leaders in their respective markets for this venture that will propel India into the future.”

The $20bn of solar projects aligns also with SoftBank’s commitment to promote and expand the use of renewable energy. In 2011, the company established SB Energy Corp to facilitate the expansion of renewables in Japan, and the group’s mega solar plants at Kyoto and Shinto-mura have done much to lift the country’s competitiveness in this field.

The timeline for the India investments is as yet unclear, and depends on government cooperation and on the availability of land in the coming months.