Asia Pacific urged to invest in solar energy

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda urged Asian-Pacific governments to invest in solar energy to help ensure environmentally sustainable growth. He also took the opportunity during the opening the second meeting of the Asia Solar Energy Forum in Tokyo to announce that ASEI will increase the amount of solar power generated in the Asia and Pacific region six-fold to 3,000 megawatts by mid-2013.The forum, a major component of the Asia Solar Energy Initiative or ASEI, is the premier platform for sharing solar energy knowledge, tracking solar development projects, and discussing new solar power proposals and incentive mechanisms.The Asia Solar Energy Initiative or ASEI is a major program launched by the Asian Development Bank in May this year to identify and develop large capacity solar projects Mr. Kuroda noted that Asia and the Pacific's high economic growth rates, continuing population growth, and current and projected energy demand gap provide a huge market opportunity and potential for solar energy development."Asian countries will need to aim to maintain economic progress and improve energy security, while simultaneously charting a new low-carbon development path," he said.Mr. Kuroda hailed Asia and the Pacific's embrace of renewable technologies, such as solar energy, which he said should benefit from finance and technology transfers from developed countries irrespective of the formal outcome of the COP-16 negotiations.