US-India Clean Energy Finance (USICEF) has selected the first class of project developers in Indian distributed solar power to receive grant support for project preparation activities, estimated to be around USD $900,000 total for the five grantees. The selected grantees and their sectors are:

• Argo Solar, which provides custom designed end-to-end solar rooftop power solutions for commercial and industrial organizations in India.
• HCT Sun India, a subsidiary of US-based HCT Sun LLC and an early stage rooftop solar developer in India.
• OMC Power, an integrated rural power utility company that brings affordable and reliable power to mobile tower operators, surrounding small businesses and communities through smart mini-grids.
• SMG Ventures, which implements rooftop solar projects primarily for commercial and industrial customers in India.
• SunFunder, an experienced debt provider for beyond the grid and grid deficit solar projects and companies, which will provide inventory, construction, and structured asset finance loans for solar lighting, home systems, mini-grids and commercial rooftop solar projects in India.

Visit here to read the full announcement.

In addition, USICEF announced its selection of a panel of project preparation service providers that will support the grantees. To see the full list, visit here.

Applications for both project developers and service providers are accepted on an ongoing, rolling basis. To learn more and to apply, visit www.usicef.org

USICEF aims to drive access to energy in underserved regions of India, by helping promising distributed solar projects develop into viable investment opportunities, via essential early-stage project preparation support. USICEF is a keystone of the commitment made between the Indian and US governments to mobilize finance for Indian distributed clean energy projects.

USICEF will deploy millions of dollars in project preparation support that will lay the foundation for project developers in distributed solar power to access much-needed capital to scale up their businesses.  USICEF is a partnership between the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the India Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and a consortium of foundations, including the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Good Energies Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust. USICEF’s support catalyzes long-term debt financing for distributed solar power from OPIC and other international financial institutions. Climate Policy Initiative serves as the Program Manager.