Taiwan’s Foxconn will team up with two companies from Japan and India to invest US$20 billion in solar power projects in India. That’s the word from Japan’s mobile phone operator Softbank on Monday.
India is working on ramping up its clean energy sector. Softbank said the venture is aimed to generate 20 gigawatts of energy through solar and wind power plants across India. That would be up from the country’s current 4.1 gigawatts capacity.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi hopes to expand clean energy to 100 gigawatts by 2022. Such a move would slash the country's constant power blackouts and bring electricity to the 300 million people who currently don’t have it.
Foxconn is the manufacturer for Apple iPhones and other popular products. Foxconn founder Terry Gou said his firm is “committed to fulfilling social and environmental responsibilities”.
Softbank said the timeline for the venture depends on negotiations with authorities and when land will be purchased for the power plants. The third company in the venture is India’s biggest wireless provider Bharti Enterprises.