Background

There are more than 380 clusters of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India and industry accounts for more than a third of the country's electricity consumption. There is a recognized need to increase the energy efficiency (EE) of SMEs but success has been limited due to technical and financial barriers.

Purpose

To work with one SME cluster as a pilot involving its local trade association or Chamber of Commerce and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to explore options for financing energy efficiency equipment by pooling the cluster's demand and using a carbon financing mechanism and then to disseminate this model to other nearby clusters.

Implementor

Alliance to Save Energy