How to Finance Solar for All?

As the world races to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, solar energy must lead — but outdated and unequal financing systems are holding it back.

The Global Solar Council's new position paper, How to Finance Solar for All?, provides a clear, actionable roadmap to help navigate the unjust solar finance architecture and make investment truly global, equitable, and inclusive.

The paper outlines 10 key recommendations to unlock solar deployment in every region, especially where it’s most urgently needed — by lowering the cost of capital, rebalancing where money flows, and removing systemic barriers that block progress.

This work was developed by the GSC Finance Task Force, chaired by Jinko Solar, with input from GSC members and partners across the solar value chain and finance ecosystem.

What’s inside the paper

• A global overview of solar finance trends and bottlenecks
• Striking data on capital costs and investment disparities
• Case studies showing what works — and what doesn’t
• 10 targeted recommendations to shift capital and policy

Our 10 Key Recommendations

1. Lower the cost of capital – Use concessional and blended finance to bring down project financing from 15% to 5%
2. Redirect capital flows – Increase investment in high-risk regions and overlooked market segments
3. Balance the value chain – Invest beyond project development: in R&D, recycling, storage, and skills
4. Standardize ESG frameworks – Harmonize requirements to reduce costs and open up access to finance
5. Invest in local financial systems – Build national lending platforms and credit lines that support SMEs
6. Promote project bundling – Aggregate small projects to lower risk and attract large-scale finance
7. Treat storage as core infrastructure – Design financial tools for solar-plus-storage, not just solar alone
8. Use public procurement as a driver – Unlock scale by anchoring demand through public buyers
9. Develop financing for new solar applications – Support agrivoltaics, floating PV, data centers, and more
10. Enhance transparency and disclosure – Improve tools and data to make climate finance accountable and effective