Que: The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) brings a new approach to alleviate energy poverty within a green energy transition. Could you tell us more about the vision and mission of GEAPP?

Ans: : The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) has been set up as an entity founded by three philanthropies, i.e. The Rockefeller Foundation, The Ikea Foundation and Bezos Earth Fund. Our goal is to raise USD 150 billion and reduce 1 billion tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere and impact about half a billion lives through reliable access. Right now, we have capitalised over USD 1.1 billion, and are present in seven countries where we have our teams. Besides, we have a presence in 12 countries that we are supporting through our partners. As mentioned earlier, the idea is to create green jobs, decarbonise multiple sectors and ensure people are getting reliable access. In the next year, we want to be present in about 50 countries with a larger pool of capital.

Que: What do you think are the factors driving the growth of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) in India?

Ans: In GEAPP, we have designed all our programmes from the lens of National priorities to make sure that we deliver results that are in line with what the government is planning for the country, including State governments as they are equally important when it comes to climate action. We have also considered India’s goals for 2030 to generate 500 gigawatts of electricity from renewables. Solar is all set to play a major role in achieving this target. India is targeting 280 gigawatts (GW) of solar power by 2030 which means in the next six years, we will need at least 40 gigawatts per year. Meanwhile, our solar installations are moving at about five gigawatts every single year. So, in a short period of six months, we are trying to increase it to six to seven to eight times which is not an easy task.

Que: The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) in India has announced strategic partnerships to support India’s goal of achieving clean energy independence by 2047. Please let us know more about these partnerships.

Ans: Solar energy, in particular, holds significant promise due to its decentralised nature and enormous potential across various sectors. One such sector is agriculture, which accounts for approximately 150 gigawatts of energy consumption in India. By promoting solar energy in agriculture, we can provide sustainable power to farmers, increase the reliability of electricity supply in rural areas, and reduce costs for utility providers.

To address the challenge of small, disaggregated solar installations, we are working on aggregating land parcels and developing clusters of villages with a cumulative capacity of 100 megawatts or more. This approach attracts private sector interest and investment, making it financially viable and unlocking the market's potential.

Another area of focus is rooftop solar power generation. While the total potential is estimated at 120 gigawatts, only about eight gigawatts have been realised, mainly in large commercial industries. We recognise the need to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and microenterprises, which face financial constraints and lack access to solar panels. To address this, we are exploring innovative financing models, such as risk-sharing arrangements, where stakeholders provide SMEs with access to solar energy solutions without requiring large upfront investments. Our role also involves bridging the gap between aggregators and projects, facilitating the entry of rooftop solar initiatives into the market.

By creating these opportunities and leveraging our resources, we aim to drive significant change in the country's energy landscape. We have already made progress in Maharashtra, where we joined hands with Mahatma Phule Renewable Energy and Infrastructure Technology Limited (MAHAPREIT) to implement livelihood-based solar projects of 1000 MW in the state, as well as expand the waste to energy (WTE) and compressed biogas (CBG) markets and we are eager to expand our efforts in other states. As part of the partnership, GEAPP will work with Ashoka University to create knowledge documents and research papers for policymakers and Indian Railways to assist in the solarisation of transport.

Through these initiatives, we believe that even our modest capital can have a transformative impact on India's journey toward a greener and more sustainable future.

Que: What challenges does India face when it comes to achieving clean energy goals? How are you able to mitigate them at GEAPP?

Ans: PM KUSUM scheme was launched in 2019 with the central financial support of over INR 34,000 crore. Today, when we are in 2023, PM KUSUM seems to be a story of misses on several accounts. Another example is FAME II scheme which was approved by the government with an outlay of INR 10,000 crore for a period of 3 years commencing from April 1, 2019.

These two government schemes prove that institutional strengthening and project preparation are more important than money and our work on decentralised solar, SME and railways is focused on these two important elements.

Que: GEAPP has launched ENTICE, the International Energy Transitions Innovation Challenge to mitigate the challenges of entrepreneurs and startups. What kind of critical problems are you planning to address with this program?

Ans: Essentially, we feel that India’s net zero target, cannot individually just be achieved by the government, or private sector, or entities like GEAPP. Everyone has to work together and entrepreneurship has to be at the heart of it.

GEAPP is expanding its intervention in India to support the country’s vision of energy independence and transition. One of its critical goals is to foster an ecosystem of entrepreneurs where we support the creation and scale of low-cost impactful solutions that will accelerate our progress toward the SDG’s. GEAPP is doing this through its flagship program ENTICE - Energy Transitions Innovation Challenge, to mitigate climate change and facilitate energy transition by supporting promising and scalable solutions with Series A funding to accelerate and scale, which will be awarded at the India Energy Transition Dialogue (IETD) scheduled for November.

We have listed four or five problems, which we feel are absolutely critical for energy transition. One is the battery as storage. Unless you get more batteries into the grid system, there is no way you can integrate more renewables. Secondly, renewables in a decentralised business need to become more affordable on a wider scale. While we are aggregating demand, we are also looking asking for innovations to reduce the cost.

We are partnering with about 40 to 50 entities in India, ranging from multilateral bodies to development banks to large industrial houses like Mahindra, Ph.D. Chambers of Commerce, Invest India, and so on. We want to have a closer look at the challenges through their networks and then put together the list in front of the jury.

ENTICE will be a flagship program that will repeat every year. So this year, it is largely focused on India. But next year, we will also make an international look at the problems of Asia, Southeast Asia, the problems of Africa.

Que: What are your views on India’s ambitious plan to achieve net zero GHG-emission by 2070? Where do you place GEAPP in this growth story?

Ans: I think it is one of the most ambitious plans that any large country has ever made. India aims to be a developed nation by 2047, which means our energy requirement would increase dramatically. There would be a massive change in the amount of energy generation as well as consumption. So, it is really good that the government has come up with such an ambitious plan.

While the centre is doing many other things, we advise them specifically to work on an integrated energy policy, looking at 2047 as the pathway. Having said that 2047 goal is very ambitious, we need an integrated approach as we head towards the future.

India is a large country, there are examples of best practices in one part, which have not touched the other parts. At GEAPP, we are creating a global resource center for energy that will bring not only bring in the best practices in one area but also help other states in India to replicate that success. With an integrated energy policy and a big push for renewables, electric vehicles and battery storage, we might be able to achieve the target before 2070.