Energy Efficiency Services (EESL), a joint venture of public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, has announced the appointment of Mahua Acharya to lead a new energy company, a 100% owned subsidiary of EESL – Convergence Energy Services (Convergence) – focused on delivering clean, affordable and reliable energy. Convergence focuses on energy solutions that lie at the confluence of renewable energy, electric mobility and climate change.
Convergence builds upon the decentralised solar development experience in under-served rural communities in India, and over time, using battery energy storage, will deliver renewable energy solutions to power agricultural pumps, street lighting, domestic lighting and cooking appliances in villages. Convergence will also work to enable battery powered electric mobility and its infrastructure and design business models to increase the uptake of electric vehicles in India. To enable commercialization of these solutions at scale, Convergence will employ business models that utilize a blend of concessionary and commercial capital, carbon finance and grants as appropriate.
Acharya has almost two decades of international experience in green finance, renewables, and carbon markets. She was the assistant director-general of Global Green Growth Institute, an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Seoul with operations in 31 countries and has held roles with Mergers & Acquisitions at ArcelorMittal. Mahua was at the World Bank in her early career and has a Masters’ degree from Yale University.
Speaking about her appointment, Mahua Acharya said, “I have spent my career thus far straddling both international public sector and the private sector, and would now like to utilize my experience, skills and networks to enable large scale transformative impact in India. EESL is perfectly placed to enable the next generation of clean energy solutions and I am delighted to be working on this new venture with them.”
Saurabh Kumar, Executive Vice-Chairman, EESL said, “Mahua is the right person for this job. Her strong leadership experience, knowledge of the clean energy and carbon trading business not just in India but also overseas makes her the ideal person for this role. I have no doubt she will be an asset to the organization and I look forward to working with her to take EESL to the next level.”
