A consortium of energy-sector experts partnering with South Asian governments to enable sustainable energy development in the South Asia region.

The South Asia Group for Energy (SAGE) is a consortium comprising USAID, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and three national laboratories: the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The consortium represents excellence in research and international development in the energy sector to advance the Asia Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy (Asia EDGE) priorities in the South Asia region.

OBJECTIVES

1. To contribute towards achieving the goals of Asia Enhancing Growth and Development through Energy (Asia EDGE), a United States Government initiative to support the growth of sustainable and secure energy markets across the Indo-Pacific region.
2.  To equip USAID partner governments with critical information to enable strategic investments.
3.  To implement research and analysis focused on energy sector opportunities throughout South Asia.

ADVANCING ENERGY SOLUTIONS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS

A primary function of SAGE is to facilitate access to technical expertise within the U.S. DOE Labs as well as within relevant U.S. government and private sector partners. These activities will take the form of direct technical assistance and enabling engagement with the U.S. public and private sector to accelerate the deployment of advanced technologies and approaches. SAGE will offer state-of-the-art technical analyses and modeling, with capacity-building for local partners.

The labs will leverage existing engagements and partnerships to maximize the effectiveness of the consortium and build coherence around related U.S. government activities in the South Asia region. Through this consortium approach, the “South Asia Group for Energy” will advance the priorities under Asia EDGE and the Indo-Pacific Strategy, including the US- India Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP).

FOCUS

The SAGE Consortium will center its initial efforts around reliability, resilience, and sustainability in the South Asian energy sector. Under this broad heading, SAGE will examine topics such as resilience to climate-related impacts; how energy choices affect power system reliability and air quality; resilience to demand growth uncertainties regarding e-mobility and similar technologies; as well as how an improved political economy and the support of enabling environments in the region can influence the overall sustainability of energy sector frameworks. Additionally, SAGE will develop technical papers and fact sheets on emerging themes in the energy sector.