Will invest $20 bn for 20 GW solar projects: SoftBank

[Yogijaat]

Japanese major SoftBank is planning to invest roughly USD 20 billion for 20 GW solar projects. However, SoftBank's founder chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son says he will keep the commitment as long as the project makes business sense. The timeline of the investment will depend on regulatory clearances ahead, he adds.

He says the project will require cooperation from the Central and state governments as well as public sector units.
According to him, India may be a better investment bet than Japan considering cost of land, labour and construction is lower here. "I have heard there is a lot of unused and uncultivable land in India. There are lots of opportunities in non-agricultural land for solar energy," he told CNBC-TV18. Son believes the solar power project will help plug India's power deficit.

Additionally, he is also seeking to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make In India' vision. SoftBank, leading Indian business group Bharti Enterprises Limited and Taiwan-based top design and manufacturing services provider Foxconn Technology Group, came together with plans to form a joint venture, SBG Cleantech Limited to promote the adoption of clean and safe energy in India. Subject to certain conditions, all three companies will jointly invest in the venture.

Read more at: Will invest $20 bn for 20 GW solar projects: SoftBank - Moneycontrol.com

 

[C130]

if you can setup 20GW of solar for $20 billion that's a deal right there.


the U.S Topaz Solar park cost was $2.5 billion for 550MW so a $1 billion a GW is insane..

 

[Lord ZeN]

if you can setup 20GW of solar for $20 billion that's a deal right there.

This article will make it much clearer to you why the cost of this project is comparability less.

"Twice the sunshine, half the cost"

The Japanese telecoms giant Softbank has announced plans to invest around $20 billion in solar-energy-power projects in India, joining forces with the country’s Bharti Enterprises and Taiwan’s Foxconn as the Indian government targets a massive expansion in the country’s solar output from some 3 gigawatts today to 100 gigawatts by 2022.

Announcing Softbank’s plans, the company’s chief executive Masayoshi Son said, “India can become probably the largest country for solar energy,” Reuters reports.

“India has two times the sunshine of Japan. The cost of construction of the solar park is half of Japan. Twice the sunshine, half the cost, that means four times the efficiency,”
Son said. The Softbank venture is aiming at generating least 20 gigawatts of energy — a goal which, if realized, will be a significant boost to Modi’s plans to develop India’s renewable energy infrastructure.

India is one of the world’s largest carbon polluters; coal dominates the country’s energy mix, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Since coming to power last year, Modi, who was behind the country’s first solar incentives during his time as the chief minister of the western Indian stage of Gujarat, has driven green energy up the national energy agenda with ambitious targets for solar and for wind power. Speaking to TIME earlier this year, he reiterated this desire, saying: “There is going to be a heavy focus on using energy that is environment friendly.”

India’s big push toward clean energy generation comes ahead of the Paris climate summit that is scheduled later this year, during which leaders from around the world converge under one roof for climate-change negotiations aimed at thrashing out a successor to the Kyoto protocol to keep global temperatures in check.

India: Japan's Softbank to Invest $20 Billion in Solar-Energy Projects


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