The Government of India, the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and the World Bank signed a $220 million Loan Agreement and a $80 million Guarantee Agreement for the India Energy Efficiency Scale-Up Program.
The programme, to be implemented by EESL, will help scale-up the deployment of energy saving measures in residential and public sectors, strengthen EESL’s institutional capacity and enhance its access to commercial financing, according to a press release.
The investments under the programme are expected to avoid lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of 170 million tons of carbon dioxide and contribute to avoiding an estimated 10 GW of additional generation capacity. This would be over 50 percent of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency target of 19.6 GW indicated in India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Accord.
“The Program will help tackle the financing, awareness, technical and capacity barriers faced by new energy efficiency programmes and support the UJALA program of the Government of India,” said Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, in the press statement. “This is one of the several steps being taken by the Government of India to meet its climate change commitments to reduce carbon intensity by 33-35 percent by 2030,” he added.
The key components of the operation include creating sustainable markets for LED lights and energy efficient ceiling fans, facilitating well-structured and scalable investments in public street lighting; developing sustainable business models for emerging market segments such as super-efficient air conditioning and agricultural water pumping systems; and strengthening the institutional capacity of EESL. Moreover, the Program will help to increase private sector participation in energy efficiency, including through private sector energy service companies. Under the Program, EESL will deploy 219 million LED bulbs and tube lights, 5.8 million ceiling fans, and 7.2 million street lights, which will be supplied by private sector manufacturers and suppliers.