Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA): Grantee Spotlight (Q2 2026)

Grantee spotlight: Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)

The Giving Green Fund plans to award a grant to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) to develop the financing roadmap for energy transition for the Indian state of Odisha. IEEFA is a global nonprofit that specializes in financial and economic analysis of energy markets, trends, and policies to accelerate energy transition. 

IEEFA’s work falls within our philanthropic strategy of supporting a clean energy transition in LMICs and, more specifically, our sub-strategy to accelerate power sector decarbonization in India. Please see Giving Green’s strategy report for more information, including potential risks and co-benefits, recommended sub-strategies, theory of change, funding need, and key uncertainties.

Last updated: May 2026

What Is IEEFA?

IEEFA combines rigorous financial and economic analysis with sustained stakeholder engagement, working with governments, financial institutions, regulators, and industry to translate analytical findings into actionable investment and policy decisions. It has core expertise across energy finance, sustainable finance frameworks, climate risk, asset-level investment analysis, and just transition economics. IEEFA’s India team conducts research and analysis on energy pricing, subsidy reform, innovative business models, and market design, while convening regulators, financial institutions, and multilateral agencies on sustainable finance and energy transition issues.

As a global organization, IEEFA has a presence in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South Asia.

What Are We Funding, and How Could It Help Address Climate Change?

As part of our focus on scaling clean energy supply and accelerating subnational energy transition in India, we are funding IEEFA to support NITI Aayog in developing a sustainable finance roadmap for energy transition in Odisha. This work supports NITI Aayog’s (the think tank of the central government of India) Accelerating Sustainable State Energy Transition (ASSET) Platform. There are two worksteams: 

• Category-level finance mapping: Translating Odisha's energy transition investment needs into category-level opportunities (e.g., utility-scale renewables, distributed renewables, etc.) that can attract capital.
  
  • Diagnostic and context setting: Analysing Odisha's fossil fuel dependency and identifying financing gaps 
  • Projectisation: Mapping category-level investment opportunities by classifying project categories, identifying suitable financing instruments, and profiling potential capital providers across public, private, and multilateral sources.
  • Risk assessment: Evaluating bankability and mapping risk mitigation options using IEEFA's sustainable finance framework.
• Financing roadmap development: Building a structured, actionable strategy to mobilize capital for energy transition in Odisha. 
  
  • Roadmap development: Developing a comprehensive financing strategy for priority sectors, defining stakeholder roles, and actionable sequencing for capital mobilization.
  • Stakeholder engagement: Conducting bilateral consultations with government departments, NITI Aayog, financial institutions, and industry to validate findings and build consensus.
  • Validation and dissemination: Convening a workshop to refine assumptions, build stakeholder ownership, and disseminate findings.

By linking policy, investment opportunities, and capital mobilization in a single framework, this work strengthens Odisha's capacity to attract clean energy investment and accelerates the deployment of renewable energy in a state with high transition risks. The approach is designed to be replicable, offering a model for states facing similar transition risks. The co-benefits of this work include economic diversification, reduced fiscal risk from stranded assets, and more equitable transition planning for affected communities.

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Why Do We Think IEEFA Will Use This Funding Well?

In addition to specialized expertise in finance, IEEFA has directly applicable experience from its ongoing work in Jharkhand, a state that faces similar transition risks, where it is supporting the state government with a cost of transition framework, financial modelling, and technical assistance to the state’s Just Transition Taskforce. This work has helped develop analytical frameworks and stakeholder engagement approaches that can be adapted for Odisha.

IEEFA’s engagement in supporting NITI Aayog through the ASSET platform creates opportunities to contribute research and analysis that can help inform state energy policy. ASSET, NITI Aayog's primary vehicle for supporting state-level energy transitions, is a particularly high-leverage entry point as success in Odisha will create a validated model that can be scaled to other states.

Philanthropic funding for finance capacity building and transition planning at the sub-national level in India remains limited. We believe IEEFA's financial expertise, proven approach in comparable state contexts, and institutional positioning within the ASSET platform make it well-placed to unlock capital flows that would not otherwise materialize.

Giving Green believes that additional climate donations are likely to be most impactful when directed to our Top Climate Nonprofits. For several reasons, we may choose to recommend grants to other organizations for work that we believe is at least as impactful as grants to our top recommendations. We are highlighting this grant to offer transparency to donors to the Giving Green Fund, as well as to provide a resource for donors who are particularly interested in this impact strategy. This is a nonpartisan analysis (study or research) and is provided for educational purposes.

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