New hub tackles world energy transition, beginning with U.S. and India
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The nonprofit World Resources Institute has landed $75 million to launch an energy transition center that aims to speed deployment of "pragmatic, scalable solutions."
Why it matters: It's designed to convene expertise in finance, tech deployment, policy and other fields that together can overcome barriers, with initial focus on the U.S. and India.
- It will help fill a "missing piece in this puzzle," said WRI president and CEO Ani Dasgupta, adding that "the orchestration of change that is needed is not actually happening right now."
- "Where I think we are different is that we will bring our global credibility, our convening power, but also take a holistic systems approach to energy transition, rather than any one piece," he said in an interview.
Boldface names in the energy and climate worlds are involved. The WRI Polsky Center for the Global Energy Transition is funded via a 10-year gift from the Polsky Foundation.
- Michael Polsky, the founder and CEO of Invenergy, will co-chair its advisory group alongside International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol.
- The 13-person advisory group also includes Tata Power CEO Praveer Sinha and Bezos Earth Fund head Andrew Steer.
Driving the news: As demand grows, the center will look to "overcome critical barriers" in areas like grid modernization, scaling finance, and sourcing critical minerals responsibly.
- For instance, it hopes to connect investors, developers and governments to "new financing instruments" to "drastically increase" clean energy deployment.
- Another goal is working with large energy buyers, and another is workforce development. Also on the list: addressing hurdles to project siting.
State of play: The foundation is also providing $25 million to create a Polsky Energy Transition Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago's Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth.
- It will focus on "experiential learning, immersive field experiences and career mentorship to help students grapple with the dual goals of the need for inexpensive and reliable energy and a manageable climate," the announcement states.
The big picture: Polsky and Dasgupta said discussions about the center began around two years ago.
- The launch itself, however, occurs as President Trump is paring back Biden-era climate and low-carbon energy policies.
- But Polsky called the new center's clean energy work consistent with Trump's goal of providing "abundant, affordable, sufficient energy" in the U.S.
- "There's no contradiction here ... I also happen to believe, based on my experience in the industry, that with increased demand, we need multiple solutions here," he said in an interview.
What we're watching: Dasgupta is looking to get "core staffing" of 15-20 people in place during the first year alone, adding to 100+ people that already work on energy at WRI.
- More fundraising can follow the "anchor gift" to expand the center's geographic scope, complementing WRI's already wide global work, he said.
The bottom line: "This will definitely reshape WRI. I'm hoping this reshapes the energy landscape all over the world," Dasgupta said.
