India and the US today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the Rs 50 crore (USD 7.9 million) PACEsetter Fund which aims to accelerate commercialisation of innovation in off-grid clean energy solutions.
This is part of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to strengthening and expanding the US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE), US Embassy said in a statement.
"US Ambassador Richard Verma and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Secretary Upendra Tripathi signed the MoU establishing PACEsetter Fund to accelerate commercialisation of innovative off-grid clean energy solutions," it added.
The fund will provide grants to support development and testing of innovative products, systems and business models to improve the viability of off-grid renewable energy businesses, it said.
The grants will target companies that sell small-scale clean energy systems to individuals and communities without access to grid-connected power or with limited or intermittent access to power.
The two governments expect to announce the initial call for proposals for the PACEsetter Fund during the August 19-20 India Off-Grid Energy Summit, the statement said.
PACEsetter Fund is the principal funding arm of Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy (PEACE), an initiative of the governments of the US and India to harness commercial enterprise and bring clean energy access to unserved and undeserved individuals and communities.
Other PEACE activities include development of a quality assurance framework for mini-grids and support for the Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN), which seeks to develop the decentralised clean energy sector in India.
Future planned activities include a private sector investment initiative and a new focus on super-efficient appliances.
