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UIUC Engineering honors Jigar Shah with alumni award
Shah’s tenure played a crucial role in the Biden administration’s aim to accelerate clean energy transition in the United States.
Jigar Shah / grainger.illinois.edu
The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has conferred the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service on Jigar H. Shah, recognizing his exceptional contributions to clean energy and sustainable infrastructure.
Shah, former director of the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), was honored for his efforts in advancing clean energy solutions, innovative financing models, and policies that support sustainable technology deployment.
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As director of the Loan Programs Office from March 2021 to January 2025, Shah oversaw a significant expansion of federal clean energy funding. Under his leadership, the office’s loan authority grew from $40 billion to $400 billion following the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
His tenure played a crucial role in the Biden administration’s initiatives to accelerate the transition to clean energy in the United States.
Before joining the DOE, Shah co-founded and served as president of Generate Capital, a firm that specialized in financing decarbonization projects through low-cost infrastructure solutions. He was also the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a non-profit established by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to promote market-driven solutions to climate change. Additionally, he founded SunEdison, a company that pioneered the "pay as you save" solar financing model, making solar power more accessible to consumers.
In recognition of his impact on the energy sector, TIME named Shah to its 2024 list of the 100 Most Influential People.
Born in India, Shah moved to the United States with his family when he was one-year-old and grew up in Sterling, Illinois. He completed his bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1996 and later earned an MBA from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2001.
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