MNRE Presents Grants to Four Clean Energy Companies Under Second Round of PACEsetter Fund

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced that it has bestowed grants to the awardees of the second round of PACEsetter fund program. The PACEsetter Fund is a ₹50 million ($7.9 million) fund jointly capitalized by India and the U.S.

The MNRE acknowledged 168 Expressions of Interest (EoIs) in the second round of the program. Out of these, four projects were nominated for award of grants. The projects were awarded to the Society for Economic and Social Studies, an independent non-profit organization working in the field of sustainable rural development; Customized Energy Solutions India Pvt. Ltd, an energy advisory and service company; The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), a not-for-profit, policy research organization – working in the field of energy, environment, and sustainable development; and Raghavendra Suntech Systems Pvt Ltd (RSSPL).

The PACEsetter Fund program is an Indo-U.S. initiative set up in 2015, which aims to fast-track the commercialization of innovative off-grid clean energy access solutions by providing early-stage grant funding that would allow businesses and non-profits to develop and test innovative products, business models, and systems.

One of the main goals of the fund is to advance the viability of off-grid renewable energy businesses that sell small scale (under 1 MW) clean energy systems to individuals and communities without access to grid-connected power or with limited and intermittent access. It is unclear how non-profit and policy organizations are able to achieve this.