SoftBank will be investing $60 billion to $100 billion in solar power of India, as NHK reports today, June 15. The company and the government of India will be reaching an agreement soon, the report says keeping sources anonymous.
According to this report, the Japanese company will come up with the investment by funding from the government of Saudi Arabia. The government is, in fact, the largest investor in Vision Fund of SoftBank, and has raised more than $93 billion last year.
This isn’t the first time SoftBank intends to invest in Indian solar aspects. Previously in 2015, the company pledged to invest $20 billion in the country’s solar projects, aiming to generate 20 gigawatts of energy. It was supposed to be the majority partner in a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises of India and Foxconn of Taiwan.
Also, in April this year, SoftBank partnered GCL System Integration Technology Co Ltd of China on a $930 million deal in Indian solar energy. Furthermore, last month saw the Japanese firm secure 200 megawatts of solar capacity auctioned in Karnataka, the southwestern Indian state.
As for India, SoftBank investment will come as a boost for the government’s strategy on renewable energy. PM Narendra Modi has his vision of renewable energy that eyes to achieve the operational solar power capacity of 100 GW by 2022. This will be five times greater than the present levels of the country’s solar capacity.
While a SoftBank spokesperson declined to comment, the company’s debut in the space of solar energy that came in March is now on course to expand further. The month saw Vision Fund investing in the world’s largest solar energy project in Saudi Arabia.
