USAID/India greening the grid (GTG) project : final performance evaluation : collaborating, learning & adapting in India mechanism (CLAIM), task order no. 1

GTG is a five-year initiative under the U.S-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) that aims to support efforts of the Government of India (GOI) to manage large-scale integration of renewable energy (RE) into regional and national grids. An important component of GTG were the pilot projects intended to demonstrate promising technologies for RE integration. The evaluation was carried out by Panagora Group in February-August 2021, and uses a mixed-methods approach, combining extensive document review and key informant interviews with GTG stakeholders. The main conclusions were that several pilots were successfully completed; other pilots were not yet completed due to delays in implementation; there was insufficient emphasis on sustainability and replication; and overall GTG had only partially met its main objectives. However, GTG had successfully engaged the GOI at national and state levels on policy and regulatory issues; this was reflected in strong buy-in and support from the GOI, which gives USAID a solid foundation for follow- on work with the GOI. Recommendations for future USAID/India programming include ensuring full engagement with state-level GOI agencies; ensuring that technology choices have support from all government and private-sector stakeholders; increasing the emphasis on the building the enabling environment for RE integration; allowing greater for flexibility and adaptation of activities in response to changing conditions; and ensuring robust, opportune monitoring and evaluation to inform learning and adaptive management.