USAID collaborates with GE to improve standards in Indian solar industry

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced to fund and promote research in partnership with the General Electrics to improve standards in the Indian solar industry.

This is one of the 49 projects selected by USAID’s US Global Development Lab today that would receive a total of USD 10 million to address critical areas of development, a media release said yesterday.

Funded through the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) program, the individual projects will address gaps in scientific knowledge ranging from disaster preparedness to maternal and child health to food security, it said.

“Collaboration is key for accelerating the impact of scientific research on development,” said Ann Mei Chang, USAID’s Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director of the US Global Development Lab.

“Through programs like PEER, we help strengthen the global scientific research community by providing opportunities for the best scientific minds to collaborate on crucial development issues,” Chang said.

Among the new awards, the PEER program will support research in Morocco on the integration of solar energy micro-grid into ‘smart buildings’ in partnership with National Instruments.

It will also aid research in Peru on climate adaptation strategies with the goals of informing practical solutions to water sustainability and water quality research in Lebanon to determine how pollutants may affect refugee populations.

It has also selected research in partnership with the National Cancer Institution on how Health approaches can be used to reduce tobacco use in patients with tuberculosis and research in partnership with USAID/Southern Africa, and the Government of South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) to co-fund two research projects addressing water quality.

Since its launch in 2011, PEER has supported more than 200 researchers in over 45 countries, with a total investment of over USD 50 million.

PTI