Obama Administration Announces New Financing and Innovation Actions for Renewable Energy
The Obama Administration recently announced new financing for renewable energy projects through several initiatives domestically and around the globe. From committing $125 million in Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) financing for renewable energy projects in El Salvador and India to announcing seven Innovation Challenges with a goal of reducing carbon emissions, the Administration hopes to continue the global transition to zero-and-low carbon energy sources. To learn more about these new initiatives, read on!
Aside from the $125 million global financing commitments, OPIC will partner with the Government of India to launch the United States-India Clean Energy Finance Facility, a $20 million distributed solar facility. Additionally, a new philanthropic partnership will be launched to bring more efficient appliances to rural villages in India.
The Administration will also turn to the next phase of Mission Innovation (MI), a global initiative launched following the Paris Agreement. The U.S. has committed to launching Innovation Challenges and workshops in seven clean energy areas, including smart grids, of-grid access to electricity, and clean energy materials. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced that the U.S. and Mexico will co-lead the Energy Materials Innovation Challenge to accelerate the innovation process for clean energy materials that are high-performing and low-cost. In addition to these announcements, the White House also released a Domestic Implementation Framework for Mission Innovation to guide the acceleration of American clean energy research, development, and demonstration.
A number of other actions were also announced, including a new partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State with the Department of Energy (DOE)’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to identify and support energy entrepreneurs in developing countries and $4 million in awards to eight household solar firms under the Power Africa Scaling Off Grid Grand Challenge. More details on these actions can be found in the Department of Energy’s announcement.
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