Unlocking finance to scale decentralised renewable energy for clean energy transitions: learnings from India
Decentralised renewable energy (DRE) technologies play a critical role in enabling an equitable energy transition and ensuring energy security for many emerging and developing economies. These technologies address three of the most pressing challenges faced in developing countries: they support diverse energy needs and, thereby, the livelihoods of large populations; they help in reaching the last mile, specifically in climate-vulnerable geographies with unreliable connectivity to electricity; and finally, they meet rising energy demands in a climate-responsible manner. Unlocking finance, for both users and enterprises, holds the key to mainstreaming these technologies for a just energy transition. To address this financing challenge, this brief proposes (a) establishing a multi-stakeholder focus group under the Energy Transitions Working Group for DRE, (b) providing capital support to pilot innovative financial instruments in the DRE sector, and (c) creating a robust framework for knowledge sharing among member countries through dedicated monitoring and impact evaluation efforts.