Call for Applications: India Clean Energy Finance Program

India Clean Energy Finance (ICEF), managed by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), is a follow-on program to the widely appreciated and successful US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) initiative. USICEF was India’s first facility to help promising distributed solar projects to develop viable investment opportunities, via essential project preparation support. ICEF is a one-of-its-kind initiative for promoting downstream applications of distributed renewable energy (DRE) by supporting the project development activities of DRE enterprises.

The first phase of ICEF has successfully mobilized more than 50x capital for each dollar spent in technical assistance to enterprises supported under the program. ICEF is designed to accelerate the adoption of established and nascent DRE technologies by unlocking commercial capital for DRE-based enterprises and projects, and DRE-focused financial intermediaries. The segments in focus are, inter alia, solar rooftop solutions, e-mobility/ solar-powered EV charging, RE-powered cooling solutions, agrivoltaics, productive minigrids, alternative sustainable fuels, distributed green hydrogen (associated renewable energy facility), energy solutions and energy-as-a-service.

The facility will extend financial advisory support to selected applicants to help assist them in mobilizing capital.

What do they offer?

• ICEF will provide technical assistance support of up to USD 150,000 to selected enterprises to enable them to use financial advisory services.

Eligibility Criteria

• The criteria below form the prerequisites for application to ICEF.
  • The applicant must be an entity limited by shares, such as a private or public limited company.
  • The applicant or – in the case of a project SPV – its sponsor must be a legally registered entity with an operational presence in India and should not be blacklisted by any government or public sector agency.
  • The applicant or – in the case of a project SPV – its sponsor should have at least USD 300,000 in last reported annual revenue.
  • The technology underpinning the applicant’s business model should have clear market potential and commercial viability and should have a functional prototype tested in a relevant practical environment.
  • The applicant should have a clear commercialization pathway with visible market demand.
  • The applicant or – in the case of a project SPV – its sponsor should have a competent leadership team with relevant technical, business, and sectoral expertise and a track record of execution in their respective domains.
  • Applicants other than financial intermediaries should have a fundraising plan of at least USD 1 million or above within a year. A DRE-focused financial intermediary as an applicant should have a fundraising plan of at least USD 2 million within a year.
  • The applicant must be willing to comply with facility monitoring, evaluation, and reporting requirements.

For more information, visit CPI.