USAID to provide $28M for South Asian energy market
The United States Agency for International Development has announced its new activities worth $28 million aimed at advancing regional energy markets in South Asia, strengthening energy security and expanding access to energy across the Indo-Pacific region.
Javier Piedra, US Agency for International Development (USAID) Acting Assistant Administrator for Asia, made the announcement at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum hosted virtually on 28th October, 2020.
A statement released by the US Embassy in Bangladesh says, “The private sector is central to these challenges, which include limited access to private capital, minimal private-sector engagement across the energy supply-chain and few transparent and open energy markets.
“The US government’s activities will improve access to affordable, secure, reliable and sustainable energy through the advancement of expanded, transparent and efficient regional energy markets,” it adds.
It also stated that the new activities included the South Asia Group for Energy (SAGE), South Asia Regional Energy Hub (SAREH) and South Asia Regional Energy Partnership (SAREP).
SAGE is a consortium comprising USAID, the US Department of Energy (DOE) and three of the DOE’s national laboratories: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The statement further reads that, “The consortium will work with energy leaders in South Asia to foster technical exchanges and analysis to keep their countries on the cutting edge of advanced energy technologies.”
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