October 19, 2016

A blog post by Gloria Coleman, Senior Analyst, Climate Policy Initiative, Fire Awards Secretariat

In the six months following the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Future of Energy Summit in New York, there have been several successful outcomes for the 2016 Fire Winners, which kicked-off implementation of work plans to achieve growth goals, with support of Fire Working Groups in May.

• In September, the team behind Affordable Green Homes, a project to catalyze a market for affordable green housing in Sub-Saharan Africa, was invited to participate in the formal launch of a UN and private sector platform to generate financing solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals. At the launch meeting, led by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, International Housing Solutions (the global private equity firm leading Affordable Green Homes) was recognized for its innovative approach to drive investment in and deliver energy and water efficient housing. The team will continue to help shape the direction of the UNSG platform.
• The Developing Harmonized Metrics for the PAYG Solar Industry initiative Championed by Anna Lerner of the World Bank Group, also moves forward, achieving a major milestone with the recent publishing of a white paper titled, How can Pay-as-you-go Solar be Financed?. The paper, which was one of the main outputs of the Fire Working Group, explores a number of the risks and challenges associated with structured finance solutions for the PAYG sector. On 11^th October, the paper was also presented and discussed in a dedicated session at the BNEF Future of Energy EMEA Summitin London. The session was led by Itamar Orlandi (Head of Applied Research, BNEF). Panelists included Fire Working Group Members, David Battley (Director of Structured Finance, SunFunder) and Peter Mockel (Senior Industry Specialist, Climate Business Department, IFC), as well as Giuseppe Artizzu (Head of Global Energy Strategy, Electro Power Systems Group), Mansoor Hamayun (Chief Executive Officer, BBOX), and Manoj Sinha (Co-Founder and CEO, Husk Power Systems). The white paper is available on the BNEF website.
• An announcement was released on the planned scale-up of the Investor Confidence Project (ICP), an Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) led initiative to standardize and increase investment in energy efficient buildings. The scale-up plan is founded on a new partnership with the Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI), which also administers the LEED, EDGE, PEER, WELL, SITES, GRESB, and Parksmart certification programs. The new partnership, which will be led by GBCI from the start of 2017, aims “to achieve a true, worldwide standard to unlock the potential of energy efficiency.” The Fire Secretariat will host a dedicated 2 hour roundtable in London on 28^th November to discuss and build momentum for the new partnership. The roundtable will comprise Fire Working Group Members and key stakeholders in the investment and real estate sectors. If you would like to attend, please let us know at info@financeforresilience.com. More information on the new partnership is available on the ICP and decentralized energy
• Finally, Grips, which provides reliable, clean energy beyond the world of fossil fuels and public grids, was supported by a Fire Working Group to make connections with over a dozen investors, which will help the initiative move forward. In recognition of its innovative approach to deliver competitive, clean energy to industrials in developing countries, Grips’ CEO, Alexander Voigt, was also invited to participate in the technical workshop to set up a UN-led platform to scale-up finance for the Sustainable Development Goals.

These achievements mark major milestones for the 2016 Fire Winners, as they continue to blaze forward and grow their impact. For those interested in learning more on any of the 2016 Fire Winners or to be involved in upcoming consultations, please contact us at info@financeforresilience.com.

“Getting access to international experts and advise made it possible to accelerate the launch of the KPI framework, grow our partner network and identify new useful applications for the data platform.” –Anna Lerner, World Bank Group

“Winning FiRe has clearly accelerated the implementation of Grips. Through the increased exposure to an international audience of financial and energy experts we have received an increasing number of project leads, partnership requests, and financing offers. We are currently advancing discussions on all sides.”–Arvid Seeberg-Elverfeldt, Grips

The Fire Awards accelerate powerful, early-stage pilots and businesses that can unlock finance for clean energy and green growth. Climate Policy Initiative serves as the secretariat for the Fire Awards alongside the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (The Lab). The Fire Awards and The Lab are funded in part by Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance provides in-kind support.