The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has urged leaders in the Asia-Pacific region to ensure that their growth is sustainable by expanding the use of solar energy.
Opening the second meeting of the Asia Solar Energy Forum (ASEF) in Tokyo, Japan, ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said that the region has huge potential for solar energy due to its high economic growth rates, continuing population growth and projected energy demand gap.
He also noted that the Asia Solar Energy Initiative (ASEI) – a major program launched by the ADB earlier this year to identify and develop large capacity solar projects – would increase the amount of solar power generated in the Asia and Pacific region six-fold to 3000 MW by mid-2013.
“Asian countries will need to aim to maintain economic progress and improve energy security, while simultaneously charting a new low-carbon development path,” said Kuroda, who also praised the region’s embrace of renewable energy technologies.
Before the launch of ASEI, the region produced less than 500 MW of solar power from installed plants. The capacity is expected to reach 1000 MW by the end of 2011, and 3000 MW by the end of its third year in May 2013.
The ASEI includes the Asia Accelerated Solar Energy Development Fund (AASEDF), which will ‘buy down’ the high upfront costs of solar energy development to help encourage private investment in the sector.
