India and U.S. team up to give boost to solar power startups

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is serious about fighting climate change, and about collaborating with the U.S. to do it, he made clear during an address to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. He said that “protection of the environment … is central to our shared vision of a just world,” and called for “a lighter carbon footprint and a greater use of renewables.”On Tuesday, the first day of Modi’s state visit to Washington, D.C., his government and the Obama administration issued a joint statement on U.S.-India cooperation that led with plans for expanding clean energy deployment in India. The most important component is $60 million in clean energy financing. The Indian and U.S. governments will split the costs of helping small Indian solar startups get off the ground, especially in rural villages that are not on the country’s electrical grid. These subsidies and loan guarantees should help the young companies expand to the point where they can attract far greater international investment — as much as $1.4 billion, the two governments estimate. That additional money will mostly come from the private sector, although some may come from other government sources, such as the U.S. Export-Import bank. -