Technological advancements continue to drive down renewable energy prices, usually making electricity from new solar and wind plants cheaper than fossil fueled generation. Renewables increase investment opportunities, generate revenue for landowners, reduce emissions, and create jobs in rural and remote areas where industry and employment may be scarce.

Executive Summary

USAID’s Scaling Up Renewable Energy (SURE) program helps countries meet bold international climate commitments by accelerating their transition to more widely accessible, affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. SURE provides renewable energy planning, procurement, grid integration, and circular economy services. Our trainings, tools, and resources help policymakers, utilities, and regulators modernize energy sectors and create policies that enable renewable energy markets to flourish.

SURE supported 13 renewable energy auctions worldwide. Auctions in Colombia and India achieved historically low prices through private investment in renewable energy. The Government of Colombia awarded 2,170 megawatts (MW) of new wind and solar power projects that will attract roughly $2.1 billion in private investment and save up to $184 million in annual electricity costs. The Government of India procured 6.6 gigawatts (GW) of electricity through first-of-their-kind tenders that will power the grid 24 hours a day using a combination of renewable technologies and battery storage. The projects are expected to attract over $3 billion in investment.

SURE developed 65 technical tools to support the design and implementation of renewable energy programs. Since July 2020, more than 2,700 people from 42 countries utilized USAID’s Renewable Energy Auctions Toolkit, a one-stop shop for USAID’s latest research, guides, training materials, case studies, and resources on auctions. Similarly, more than 4,000 users from 68 countries utilized USAID’s Powering Health Toolkit, a timely resource that helps health centers design, procure, and install reliable energy systems that power life-saving technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SURE built the capacity of 581 institutions to address clean energy issues and trained 4,322 people in strategic energy planning, renewable energy procurement and integration, and distributed energy business models and incentives. SURE hosted a Renewable Energy Auction Webinar Series to increase energy practitioners’ skills to plan, fund, and conduct successful auctions; more than 350 people from 68 countries participated in the three webinars. SURE also trained 43 professionals from six South Asian countries to use REPOSE, a resource planning software developed by the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment 2.0 Renewable Energy (PACE-D 2.0 RE).

SURE worked with national energy ministries and regulators to create environments for renewable energy to thrive. Partner country governments adopted seven policies and regulations to support the integration of variable renewable energy and catalyze private investment. With SURE support, the African Union Commission (AUC) in partnership with USAID and Power Africa released Unlocking Africa’s Mini-Grid Market, a report that presents policy and regulatory options to help the mini-grid market flourish.

SURE countered gender disparities, cultivated talent, and promoted leadership opportunities for women so they can thrive in well-paying energy jobs. Through USAID’s Engendering Industries program, SURE formed partnerships with 17 power utilities in 14 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Europe as well as utilities in other male-dominated sectors. These partnerships led to the hiring of 1,135 women and the promotion of nearly 1,000 women at partner utilities.