The Obama administration has announced a new set of renewable energy funding and innovation programs to support global transition efforts to zero-and-low carbon energy sources.The Energy Department said Monday that the current administration pledged to invest $125 million in renewable energy projects in El Salvador and India through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation as well as allocate $36 million for entrepreneurs to connect households in sub-Saharan Africa to affordable electricity.
The White House also raised more than $11 million with the help of other governments and development partners to deploy new off-grid technologies around the world via the Efficiency for Access coalition.
Seven innovation challenges on clean energy will be launched in a push to meet global deep-decarbonization goals through research and development of smart grids, biofuel, carbon emission, solar fuel, clean energy materials, heating and cooling systems, DOE added.
The department’s office of science also plans to launch four workshops within the next 18 months to determine the basic research needs for catalysis, electrical energy storage, hydrogen at scale and solar energy utilization.
President Obama’s Power Africa program also looks to expand renewable energy project development in the sub-Saharan Africa through investments on projects that aim to generate approximately 2,000 megawatts from biomass, wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower systems.
DOE noted that the global investment in renewable energy has achieved a milestone last year as more than half of the world’s new electric capacity was produced from renewable energy sources.
