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India requires approximately USD 450 billion in additional capital by 2040 to reach a renewable energy capacity of 480 GW. The report argues that the sector has matured from a high-risk, high-growth stage to a low-medium risk profile with predictable yields, making it highly attractive for institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies. While India offers higher excess returns (3.5%) than the US (2.4%) and China (1%), significant barriers persist, most notably off-taker risk from DISCOMs, currency devaluation, and a lack of liquid financial securities. The authors propose solutions including transparent payment security mechanisms, FX hedging facilities, and the securitization of loan portfolios to attract large-scale institutional capital.

The report argues that India's 40 GW rooftop solar target by 2022 requires an estimated USD 39 billion in investment, but growth is hindered by high upfront costs and limited access to debt capital. It proposes a Solar Municipal Bond (SMB) model where municipal entities act as finance aggregators, issuing bonds to provide low-cost, long-term debt to private developers via capital lease arrangements. This model could reduce the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for rooftop solar by up to 12%. Case studies in Surat and New Delhi suggest that while the model is promising, significant barriers exist, including a lack of statutory mandates for municipalities to promote power generation and the need for high credit ratings to attract institutional investors.

The report argues that India's 40 GW rooftop solar target by 2022 requires an estimated USD 39 billion in investment, but growth is hindered by high upfront costs and limited access to debt capital. It proposes a Solar Municipal Bond (SMB) model where municipal entities act as finance aggregators, issuing bonds to provide low-cost, long-term debt to private developers via capital lease arrangements. This model could reduce rooftop solar costs by up to 12%. Case studies in Surat and New Delhi indicate that SMBs could make rooftop solar more competitive against grid tariffs, particularly for commercial and industrial sectors. However, significant barriers exist, including the lack of a statutory mandate for municipalities to promote power generation and SEBI regulations requiring a 20% equity contribution.

The report argues that solar thermal technology is an ideal fit for South Africa's food and beverage industries, where up to 77% of energy use is for heating, mostly below 250°C. While the current local industry is dominated by domestic water heaters, there is a significant opportunity to scale industrial applications. The report estimates that replacing non-coal fuels with solar thermal could save 158,685 tonnes of CO2e per annum, while replacing coal could save 942,556 tonnes. Financial viability is high for replacing fuels other than coal, with potential Internal Rates of Return above 10% over 20 years. However, barriers include a lack of sustained demand, a skills gap in industrial design, and limited familiarity among financial institutions.

The document examines Ethiopia's efforts to expand rural energy access through solar technologies under the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II). While solar lantern adoption has grown, the brief identifies significant systemic barriers—including fragmented import processes, foreign exchange shortages, and a lack of clear grid expansion plans—that hinder private sector investment and the deployment of higher-capacity systems like solar home systems and micro-grids. It recommends streamlining customs through 'Green Line' declarations, incentivizing local manufacturing, and promoting affordable financing models such as pay-as-you-go to achieve the target of increasing energy access for up to 4 million households by 2020.

Goldman Sachs became the first U.S. bank to sign a large-scale, off-site renewable energy PPA for a 68 MW wind project in Pennsylvania. The bank utilized a virtual PPA structure within the PJM grid to align clean energy generation with its U.S. consumption while managing commodity risks through its J. Aron business. This deal supports the firm's goal of 100 percent renewable electricity by 2020 and a target of $150 billion in clean energy investments by 2025.

The region at the base of the Himalayas is experiencing extreme climate volatility, with record-setting floods and severe droughts disrupting both water and energy security. India's power grid relies heavily on water-intensive coal and hydropower, leading to chronic electricity shortages when water is scarce and infrastructure damage during floods. These challenges have triggered rural-to-urban migration, civil unrest, and farmer suicides. To mitigate these risks, the document recommends that India shift toward wind and solar energy and suggests the U.S. provide financial and technical support through initiatives like the U.S.-India Clean Energy Finance Scheme.

India requires $189 billion in additional investment to meet its 2022 renewable energy targets, with a specific need for $57 billion in equity and $132 billion in debt. While the total investment potential is $411 billion, expected investment is only $166 billion, leaving a gap of $23 billion. Foreign institutional investors have the capacity to fill 100% of the equity gap, and domestic institutional investors can meet 54% of the debt gap. However, significant barriers persist, including off-taker risk, currency volatility, and a lack of liquid investment instruments. The report proposes financial solutions such as payment security mechanisms, foreign exchange hedging facilities, and infrastructure debt funds, alongside policy reforms in land acquisition and transmission capacity.

The document details a spreadsheet model designed to quantify the effects of hypothetical green banks in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont from 2017 to 2031. It outlines the financial assumptions, including initial capitalization based on New York's per-capita rates, a 5% borrower interest rate, and a 5:1 private-sector leverage ratio. The methodology explains how funds are allocated across energy efficiency, solar photovoltaics, and community wind, and how these investments are translated into installed capacity, electricity savings, and avoided carbon emissions using data from NREL, ACEEE, and the EPA.

The Union of Concerned Scientists proposes that New Hampshire establish a clean energy finance authority to leverage public funds for private investment. An analysis suggests that an initial $14 million capitalization could drive $300 million in total investment over 15 years, resulting in 70 MW of new solar and wind capacity, $40.3 million in annual electricity bill savings, and a reduction of 222,900 tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2031.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) proposes that Vermont could leverage an initial $7 million public investment into $148 million of total clean energy investment over 15 years. This expanded financing capacity would support nearly 50 MW of new solar and wind power, save homes and businesses $14.6 million annually on electricity bills, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 111,500 tons by 2031. The report details existing Vermont programs—such as Efficiency Vermont, PACE financing, and the Clean Energy Development Fund—and suggests a more comprehensive, coordinated public-private financing initiative to meet the state's long-term goal of 90% renewable energy and efficiency by 2050.

The report analyzes the third party financing model for rooftop solar in India, where developers install and own systems and sell power to consumers via long-term agreements. While the model is financially viable in most states for industrial and commercial segments—often achieving grid parity without incentives—its growth is hindered by limited debt finance, consumer credit risk, and inconsistent net metering implementation. The report suggests policy interventions such as training bank officials, involving DISCOMs in power purchase agreements, and creating specialized dispute courts, alongside financial instruments like peer-to-peer lending platforms and green bond securitization.

The Union of Concerned Scientists proposes a green bank for Michigan, estimating that an initial public investment of $105 million could leverage $3.3 billion in total clean energy investments by 2030. This financial mechanism would support the deployment of 685 MW of solar capacity and reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 3.9 million tons, contributing 13% of the emissions reductions required for the state to meet Clean Power Plan targets. The document outlines various financial products the bank could offer, such as credit enhancements and warehousing, and identifies existing Michigan programs that could be integrated into this structure.

The Union of Concerned Scientists analyzes how a hypothetical Pennsylvania green bank, with an initial $135 million capitalization, could leverage $4.2 billion in total investment by 2030. This initiative would support 780 MW of wind and solar capacity, save $375 million annually on electricity bills, and reduce CO2 emissions by 4.8 million tons per year, contributing 11% of the state's required reductions under the Clean Power Plan.

The Union of Concerned Scientists analyzes how a hypothetical Virginia green bank with $90 million in initial capitalization could leverage $2.8 billion in total investment by 2030, significantly reducing carbon emissions and supporting the deployment of 575 MW of wind and solar capacity.

The report argues that high currency hedging costs in India make foreign debt nearly as expensive as domestic debt, hindering renewable energy targets. It proposes a government-sponsored FX hedging facility that could reduce hedging costs by nearly 50% and government support costs by up to 54%. The analysis suggests that while the expected cost of such a facility is 3.5 percentage points per year, the government would need a capital buffer of approximately INR 14.26 million/MW over 10 years to maintain a BBB- sovereign rating.

The paper argues that high currency hedging costs in India negate the benefits of cheaper foreign loans, increasing renewable energy costs by 30% compared to the US. Using a stochastic model, the authors find that a government-sponsored FXHF could provide a 10-year currency hedge at an expected cost of 3.5 percentage points, which is 50% lower than market rates. Such a facility could reduce the delivered cost of renewable energy by up to 19% and government support costs by up to 54%, provided the government manages extreme currency risks. To achieve a credit rating equivalent to India's sovereign rating of BBB-, the paper estimates a cumulative capital buffer of approximately 30% of the underlying loan would be required.

The report finds that wind power is already cost-competitive with imported coal, while solar power is expected to become competitive by 2019. It argues that the total cost of government support for solar energy can be reduced by 96% if the government shifts from accelerated depreciation to a policy of reduced cost, extended tenor debt. To further minimize costs, the report suggests accelerating wind deployment in the near term and ramping up solar deployment after 2019.

The document examines how Spain's Feed-in Tariffs and Feed-in Premiums successfully drove the deployment of 2.3 GW of CSP and fostered a world-leading domestic industry, but later shattered investor confidence through retroactive cost-cutting measures. It highlights that the lack of deployment caps and failure to drive cost reductions led to unsustainable public costs, resulting in a market standstill since 2012 and increased financing costs due to heightened risk aversion.

The report identifies that high cost, short tenors, and variable interest rates of debt increase the cost of renewable energy in India by 24-32% compared to the US. It evaluates five recommended instruments to address these barriers: government bonds, infrastructure debt funds (mutual fund model), partial credit guarantees, partial risk guarantees, and exchange rate liquidity facilities. The analysis finds that government bonds offer the highest potential for cost reduction (up to 4.5 percentage points) and tenor increase (up to 10 years), while other instruments like partial credit guarantees can mobilize private capital from pension and insurance funds by enhancing project credit ratings to AA. The report also examines the impact of currency hedging costs, which currently neutralize the advantages of lower-cost foreign debt, and proposes a liquidity facility to mitigate this risk.