30 October 2013: The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) of the World Bank has published a report, titled ‘Development of Local Supply Chain: The Missing Link for Concentrated Solar Power Projects in India,’ which explores how India can overcome cost barriers impeding Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) deployment.

The study aimed to assess India’s industrial potential to manufacture CSP components, given that CSP is currently the only economically viable option that provides both energy storage and grid-dispatchable energy on a large scale. The report finds great potential for CSP in India, and notes it could create a new domestic industry and thousands of jobs that could serve both domestic and international markets, and lower component costs by up to 40 percent in some cases. The report also proposes an Action Plan to facilitate the development of India’s CSP potential that includes guidance on: long-term policy framework development for CSP; planning for payment security; provision of low-cost financing; financial planning of subsidies and other incentives; and a mechanism for promoting research and development and innovation.

The study supports India’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), which was launched in 2010 with the aim of deploying 20 gigawatts of grid-connected solar power by 2022. ESMAP is a global, multi-donor technical assistance trust fund administered by the World Bank and cosponsored by 13 official bilateral donors. ESMAP carried out a related study on the potential for CSP manufacturing in the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. [Press release] [Publication: Development of Local Supply Chain: The Missing Link for Concentrated Solar Power Projects in India] [Executive Summary] [Publication: Middle East and North Africa Region Assessment of the Local Manufacturing Potential for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Projects]