USICEF will deploy up to US$20 million in project preparation support for distributed solar projects in India. Flickr: opensource The India government and the US Government’s development finance institution, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), have launched a US$20 million finance initiative to fund renewable energy projects in India. The US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) scheme has received funding from multiple foundations as well as the indian government, while the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) in Delhi has been selected as its secretariat. USICEF will deploy up to US$20 million in project preparation support for distributed solar projects, that are under consideration for long-term financing from OPIC. This will help developers secure capital to scale up their businesses. Elizabeth Littlefield, OPIC’s president and chief executive, said: “This initiative is a critical step towards increasing access to energy in underserved regions in India. The India Clean Energy Finance Initiative will support small projects with seed capital and assistance to help them grow as they then look to OPIC to work with. This public-private partnership presents the opportunity for OPIC to finance and deploy high-impact development projects that support underserved communities throughout India to help the country meet its energy goals.” Another scheme, the US-Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative (ACEF) has already deployed US$20 million in grants and is on track to catalyze over US$1 billion in project investment in Africa from a combination of private capital providers and OPIC. Tags: opic, india, distributed generation, usicef
The Indian and US governments have launched a $20m fund aimed at financing renewable-energy projects in India. Multiple foundations have paid into the US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) scheme, which is to be governed by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) in Delhi, including the US’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). In India, OPIC has been involved with several renewable projects, such as solar power plants that are being built on land owned by the government of Andhra Pradesh. A similar project organised by the US and African governments helped to catalyse $1bn in project investment.