Increasing access to energy in India’s most deprived regions

The USICEF initiative is a critical step towards increasing energy access in underserved regions of India. This public-private partnership creates an opportunity for OPIC to finance and implement high-impact development projects that support underserved communities across India to help the country achieve its energy goals.

Elizabeth L. Littlefieldformer president and CEO of OPIC

WORK

CPI manages the US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) initiative, which is India’s first project preparation and pipeline development institution that helps promising distributed solar projects turn into viable investment opportunities.

As a key part of the commitment made between the governments of India and the United States to mobilize finance for India’s distributed clean energy projects, USICEF enables these projects to unlock capital that in turn benefits disadvantaged communities in India and contributes to ambitious India’s renewable energy and energy access targets.

HIT

In just three years, USICEF has identified over 30 promising distributed solar energy projects in 20 states in India and has committed a total of $5.1 million in grants to these projects.

These projects are expected to generate over 500 MW of clean energy, avoiding 660,000 MT CO emissions₂ emissions annually, create 17,500 new jobs, generate 710,000 MWh of electricity annually and run over $250 million in project debt.

This equates to a leverage ratio of ~$90 for energy access in India for every dollar contributed to CPI as the USICEF Secretariat.

READ THE 2020 IMPACT REPORT

CONTACT

If you would like our support to replicate or expand the USICEF model, please contact us at [email protected].

VISIT THE USICEF WEBSITE