Applications open for South Asia Regional Energy Partnership Program

Deadline: 31-Dec-2024

The South Asia Regional Energy Partnership (SAREP) is the flagship regional energy program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) mission to India (USAID/I).

The program is a key activity under the U.S. Government’s Clean Edge Asia -Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy initiative and aligns with USAID’s climate change priorities to advance equitable and ambitious actions to confront the climate crisis.

The program helps the United States Government’s Indo-Pacific Vision and facilitates collaboration among the six countries in South Asia to accelerate the transition to clean energy, mitigate climate change, and promote energy security.

Objectives

• SAREP seeks to encourage targeted action and drive systems change by engaging policymakers, regulators, utilities, private sector, investors, and think tanks among others, through four key technical objectives and three cross-cutting themes:
  • Objective 1: Enhanced regional energy markets and integration:
    • SAREP will facilitate development of regional power markets, improve coordination and planning, strengthen national and regional institutions, drive consensus on power trade, and institutionalize a supporting framework and mechanisms. The expected outcome is increased cross-border electricity trade in the region by transitioning to tri- and multilateral power trade and a regionally integrated grid that will lead to an energy-secure South Asia.
  • Objective 2: Increased deployment of advanced energy solutions and systems:
    • SAREP will enhance and accelerate deployment of clean energy technologies for transition to net zero emissions by helping partner countries reach near-term climate goals and avoid locking in longerterm emissions trajectories. These technologies include renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, off-grid, behind-the-meter technologies and smart appliances, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and solutions and tools to support renewable energy integration including market products among others
  • Objective 3: High-performing modern utilities:
    • SAREP will enable modernization of transmission, system operation and distribution utilities in the region to improve their technical, financial, and operational performance, grid resilience, enhance customer service, and promote adaptability to new technical advancements. The expected outcome is modern, financially viable utilities that enable clean energy transition and efficient energy markets.
  • Objective 4: Transparent, best-value procurement and private sector investment mobilized: 
    • SAREP will facilitate increased private sector investments and enhance domestic and international finance for clean energy deployment. SAREP will also enable improved procurement processes and governance, adoption of best-value procurement practices, promote PPP models, and improve bankability of clean energy projects.
• SAREP’s activities and outcomes also support and contribute to the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) and the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue (CAFMD) under the recently established U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership. Through this collaboration, India and the U.S. aim to demonstrate swift climate action that is inclusive, resilient, and based on national and regional priorities. Countries in the region will also benefit from this collaboration through sharing of the learnings, best practices, lessons, and templates from previous experience which can be customized and replicated in other South Asian countries.
• Private sector engagement: SAREP will enable and enhance private sector participation, leverage and mobilize resources, strengthen the enabling environment, increase awareness and understanding of solutions to enhance private sector finances, and promote replication of successful approaches.
• Gender diversity and inclusion: SAREP will increase awareness and enable inclusion considerations in the energy sector, particularly mainstreaming gender in the energy sector. It will also engage and promote women leaders and entrepreneurs across the region.
• Pollution mitigation: SAREP will advance clean energy deployment to reduce air pollution associated with the energy sector.

Funding Information

• The following type of grants may be awarded by SAREP:
  • Fixed Amount Award (FAA): Up to $250,000 for non-U.S. organizations and not to exceed $250,000 for U.S. organizations.
  • Simplified Cost reimbursement Grant (SIG): Up to $250,000 for non U.S. organizations and not to exceed $250,000 for U.S. organizations.
  • Standard Cost reimbursement Grant (STG): Up to $500,000 for non U.S. Organizations and not to exceed $250,000 for U.S. organizations.
  • In-Kind Grants: Up to $500,000

Outcomes

• SAREP aims to achieve the following outcomes (Expected Results) over the duration of the Program.
• Expected Results
  • Leverage: $7 billion in investment in power infrastructure
  • Deploy: 5000MW of clean energy
  • Save over 435 GWh through energy efficiency
  • Facilitate 4TWh worth of cross border trade
  • Strengthen capacity of 10,000+ professionals and technicians
• These outcomes will be achieved through a combination of activities delivered through:
• SAREP Task Order being implemented by RTI International and its consortium members and subcontractors.
• SAREP Partnership Fund i.e., grants administered by RTI International, as part of the SAREP Task Order.

Eligibility Criteria

• The SAREP Partnership Fund grants can be provided to private sector / for-profit entities; not for-profit organizations; nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); civil society organizations; business service organizations; industry, trade, or other private sector associations; educational/training or academic institutions; and think tank/research entities which are eligible to receive foreign funded grants in accordance with applicable local regulations. Government and or quasi-government (parastatal entities) are not eligible to apply for and receive grants funded under this APS. All applicants will be bound by various USAID regulations as relevant and set forth in the US Code of Federal Regulations and Automated Directive System.
• To be eligible for funding grantees must:
  • Have no real or apparent conflicts of interest that could jeopardize the impartiality of the selection process or arise and affect project implementation. Applicants will be required to proactively declare any such potential conflicts so that they are mitigated in advance of applicant consideration. Any such conflicts can be personal, business, or finance related
  • Be legally authorized to receive foreign funded grants and conduct activities in the country for which application is made and accordingly demonstrate compliance with all applicable local legal and regulatory requirements such as but not limited to:
  • In the case of India, comply with applicable provisions of the Foreign Contributions Regulations Act FCRA and have an active and valid FCRA registration valid at least for 6 months as of the date of application
  • In the case of Nepal, comply with provisions of The Social Welfare Act, 2049 (1992), and / or Associations Registration Act, 2034 (1977) and / or The Income Tax Act, 2002 (2058), as may be applicable
  • In the case of Bhutan, comply with regulations and norms of Civil Society Organization Authority (CSOA), Bhutan and the Bhutan Royal Monetary Authority, as may be applicable
  • In the case of Sri Lanka, have the mandatory registrations and approvals from the relevant Government Ministry. In addition, comply with regulations specified by External Resources Department under the Ministry of Finance and provisions specified by Voluntary Social Service Organizations (Registration and Supervision) Act, No. 31 of 1980 as amended, as may be applicable
  • In the case of Maldives, comply with regulations and provisions of Ministry of Youth, Sports & Community Empowerment and the Associations Act 1/2003, as may be applicable
  • In the case of Bangladesh, comply with the provisions of Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulations Act, 2016, as may be applicable.

Ineligibility Criteria

• The SAREP Partnership Fund cannot be utilized for the following activities:
  • Support expansion of capacity or extend the operational life of carbon-intensive fossil fuelbased energy projects (e.g., oil, fossil [natural] gas, and coal). Support for natural gas for household energy access projects, in particular clean cooking projects, can be considered, if no cleaner options are feasible
  • Purchases of restricted goods, such as agricultural commodities, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals, contraceptive products, pesticides, used equipment, or fertilizers without the previous approval of the USAID Task Order Contracting Officer (TOCO)
  • Purchase of prohibited goods under USAID regulations, including but not limited to police or law enforcement equipment, abortion equipment and services, weather modification equipment, luxury goods, and gambling equipment
  • Purchases of any equipment or services from specific companies, or their subsidiaries and affiliates, including Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, and Dahua Technology Company (“Covered Technology”)

For more information, visit USAID.