Innovative Solar

The Innovative Solar initiative aims to: enlarge the scope of solar deployment beyond typical large-scale, ground-mounted solar photovoltaics (PV) projects; and support client countries’ awareness, adoption, and deployment of innovative grid-tied solar concepts and business models.

The initiative supports developing countries interested in deploying solar in places with challenging land acquisition or where solar variability poses significant constraints on the local grid.

ESMAP's Response

The initiative will achieve this through three main workstreams:

Support to distributed solar deployment (rooftop PV) in developing countries’ specific settings. The initiative includes exploration of “use cases” and business models that alleviate challenges, such as energy security, costs of power production, and quality of service.
Support to floating solar deployment in places where land is scarce (island states) or land acquisition is a major obstacle to solar development. While building on previous experience under the report series Where Sun Meets Water, the initiative will also focus on: man-made, in-land water bodies; marine floating solar, in particular on marine spatial plans for floating solar; and related environmental and social considerations.
Support to hybridization of solar power with other technologies in order to decrease its variability, improve its dispatachability, and improve the use of grid infrastructure such as power lines and substations. Examples of such work include: hybridization of hydropower plants with solar power plants (whether land-based or floating); and hybridization of solar power generation with other forms of energy storage. The initiative supports technical studies for these complex projects as well as studies of options for institutional structuring.

Other areas of interest of the Innovative Solar initiative include: solar-based water pumping for agricultural purposes; solarization of water utilities; solar-based desalination; and solar heat applications in end uses.

Publications

Assessing and Mapping Renewable Energy Resources | 2nd Edition

Leveraging Digital Finance to Scale the Solar Home Systems Market in Pakistan

News

USD$280 million of climate financing mobilized for 2.5 GW of solar and wind projects under the Sustainable Renewables Risk Mitigation Initiative (SRMI)

Events

PAST EVENT | ESMAP Solar Learning Event

Resources

Global Solar Atlas

NEW REPORT

NEWS

RESOURCE

REPORT

REPORT

Innovative Solar