YES Bank, an Indian private sector bank, is planning to mobilize up to $1 billion (~₹64 billion) to finance  solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the country by 2023 and $5 billion (~₹320 billion) by 2030.

The announcement was made at the International Solar Alliance (ISA) conference organized at the recent World Future Energy Summit 2018 in Abu Dhabi.

YES Bank has already signed five solar energy co-financing letters of Intent (LoI) with Hero Future Energies (up to 1.5 GW of capacity); Greenko Group (up to 10 GW of capacity); Amplus Solar (up to 1 GW of capacity); Jakson Group (up to 1 GW of capacity); and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (up to 10 MW of capacity) for their respective solar projects in the country which are slated to be complete by 2023.

This announcement will also act as a precursor to RE-Invest 2018, the flagship renewable energy summit of the government which is scheduled to be held in April 2018. The summit will aid in the creation of an action road map for the bank’s commitment to the government’s vision.

However, in the past, grand announcements have meant little as barely any of these investment pledges have turned into much. These investment letter of intents give the government a big potential investment to tout and private companies get to please the government.

In December 2017, Mercom reported on a collaboration between YES Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB) that was seeking to formulate a renewable energy financing program worth $400 million for India.

In 2017, YES Bank signed a Green Finance Charter with FMO (the development bank of the Netherlands), DEG (the development bank of Germany), and Proparco (the development bank of France) for green finance in India. Through the charter, the four banks committed to mobilizing green investments, seizing opportunities in India’s sunrise sectors, and contributing to achieving India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets toward climate change.

Mercom also reported on Thursday that the government announced it was setting up a $350 million (~₹22.4 billion) solar development fund for the financing of solar projects in the country.