Results Based Financing in the Energy Access Sector - Online Consultation
The Energising Development Program (EnDev), with support from the Department for International Development (DFID), is piloting Results Based Financing (RBF) as a tool to develop markets for low-carbon off-grid energy access products and services in developing countries. A first tranche of RBF incentives will go on the market in early 2014. EnDev and DFID aim to further strengthen the learning on RBF through a second tranche of projects emphasizing innovation in (RBF) approaches and technology sub-sectors.
With the aim of generating innovative ideas for expanding the RBF portfolio, and for exchanging views on RBF opportunities in the energy access sector in general, EnDev is hosting an online consultation/brainstorm on Energypedia.
The consultation will end on 17 November 2013.
Energy Sector News
Cookstove CDM-PoA Registered in India
To make improved cookstoves (ICS) affordable for rural households and community institutions throughout India, the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) with support from the the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has successfully registered a Programme of Activities (PoA) to tap international carbon funding. In addition to making improved stoves more affordable, funds generated through the PoA will also be used to stimulate demand for improved cookstoves through awareness campaigns, end-user financing and user trainings.
Just in time for meeting the EU deadline of 31 December 2012, the PoA was registered on 28 December last year. Therefore the credits from this PoA will be eligible under the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). Currently, the PoA is undergoing the Gold Standard registration process which will serve as a quality label enhancing the value of the carbon credits generated.
Clean Cooking Catalog Launched
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves has launched the Clean Cooking Catalog, a global guide to clean cooking solutions. The online database includes technology options, specifications, prices, and publically available stove performance data. The main goal of the Catalog is to provide a framework for integrating future testing data and stove information together, especially as technologies continue to improve.
The Catalog contains data from a compilation of stove performance data conducted by the Berkeley Air Monitoring Group. This compilation includes publications and reports from NGOs, consultants, private research groups, and government agencies, from 1996 to 2012.
TRACE - Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy
Cities face the difficult challenge of maintaining economic competitiveness, and improving and expanding municipal services in the face of limited budgets. Energy efficiency (EE) can help cities relieve some of the budgetary pressure by reducing energy costs, thus freeing resources for municipal services. EE can also help improve the quality of services, such as improved lighting, transport, and building maintenance.
The Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy (TRACE) is a decision-support system designed to help cities quickly identify and harness EE opportunities. TRACE was developed by the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and was designed to involve city decision-makers in the deployment process. It targets underperforming sectors, evaluates improvement and cost-saving potential, and helps prioritize actions for EE interventions. TRACE focuses on the municipal sectors with the highest energy use: passenger transport, municipal buildings, water and wastewater, public lighting, power and heat, and solid waste.
IRENA Global Atlas: New Africa Wind Map Released
The IRENA Global Atlas for Solar and Wind has published the wind map of Africa. The map which was developed by the Spanish Renewable Energy Research Center (CENER) displays the average annual wind speed calculated at 10 km resolution and 10 m height over the entire continent for the period January 2008 to December 2012.
AfDB Launches Green Bond Programme for Financing Climate Solutions
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched its inaugural Green Bond. The bonds were designed to address two core objectives within AfDB's Strategy for 2013-2022: (i) achieving inclusive growth for poverty reduction and increased employment; and (ii) assisting a transition to green growth through ensuring sustainable, inclusive growth.
Projects to be financed include those in renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, vehicle energy efficiency fleet retrofit or urban transport modal change, biosphere conversation projects, solid waste management, fugitive emissions and carbon capture, urban development, and water supply and access. The majority of initial support for the three years of US$500 million Green Bond has been from investors focused on socially responsible investing, purchasing 84% of the bonds.
Rural Electrification Support for Developing Countries
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the World Bank Group and the United Nations Foundation have announced a cooperative agreement that will enable developing countries to access important technical documents that support rural electrification, at specially discounted prices. The documents include the Quality Assurance Framework for solar powered off-grid lighting products, which has been used by the Lighting Africa and Lighting Asia programs to avert market spoilage by products of unverified quality.
The tripartite agreement is providing discounts of between 50 and 75 percent depending on the specific document purchased, to qualified stakeholders. The documents are part of IEC’s Technical Specification 62257 series titled Recommendations for Small Renewable Energy and Hybrid Systems for Rural Electrification', which outlines international best practices for improving energy access in developing countries using a range of technologies.
New Energy Publications
Scaling Adoption of Clean Cooking Solutions Through Women’s Empowerment - A Resource Guide
The report 'Scaling Adoption of Clean Cooking Solutions Through Women's Empowerment: A Resource Guide' published by the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves outlines common challenges and best practices for engaging and empowering women in each segment of the clean cooking value chain by examining highly successful case studies in which women play lead roles.
The report compiles existing literature into a practical guide aimed at equipping practitioners with an understanding of why women have a critical role to play, how to involve them and the benefits that come when unleashing women’s potential. Each section of the Resource Guide lists distinct empowerment opportunities, challenges to overcome, and benefits of including women and addressing gender issues. In each value chain section, there are actionable and clear best practices that can be applied to work within that segment.
2012 Results Report: Sharing Progress on the Path to Adoption of Clean Cooking Solutions
This new report from the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves tracks the Alliance partner’s progress towards driving the adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels in 100 million households by 2020. This report is envisioned to be the first in a series of annual results reports illuminating traction and trends in the cookstove and fuel sector.
The Alliance has over 800 partners globally, and the information presented in the report is based on data collected from this partnership base, including cookstove and fuel manufactures, distributors, testing organizations, researchers, local implementing partners, consultants, carbon asset and offset project developers, multilateral institutions, investors and other organizations.
The report cites that 246 survey respondents manufactured 9.6 million stoves and distributed 8.2 million in 59 countries, which is more than twice the number reported in 2011. Further breakdowns indicating urban/rural, direct sales versus sales to intermediaries, portable versus fixed stove sales, as well as financing and quality testing of stoves are also discussed.
Renewable Energy in West Africa: Status, Experiences and Trends
The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), Casa Africa and the Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias S.A. (ITC), have jointly released the publication ‘Renewable Energy in West Africa: Status, Experiences and Trends.’
The publication provides an insight into the status quo and trends of the West African renewable energy (RE) market. The comprehensive book offers is a representative sample of the current situation of RE in a region that has many development opportunities that need initiatives adapted to its context. Topics explored in the book include RE scenarios for West Africa, RE policy frameworks and incentives, the ECOWAS RE Policy, rural electrification strategies, RE investment and financing opportunities.
Assessing Low-Carbon Development in Nigeria - An Analysis of Four Sectors
The World Bank Study ‘Assessing Low-Carbon Development in Nigeria - An Analysis of Four Sectors’ analyzes the climate change mitigation potential of the agricultural sector within the constraints of meeting Nigeria’s Vision 20: 2020. The Vision 20: 2020 plan seeks to increase the domestic agricultural production sixfold by 2020.
The goal of the low-carbon analysis is to define likely trends in carbon emissions up to 2035, based on government sector development plans, and to identify opportunities for achieving equivalent development objectives with a reduced carbon footprint. The study comprises the following components:
- Development of a reference scenario of greenhouse gas (GHG) net emissions for the agriculture sector, consistent with Vision 20: 2020 and other government plans
- Identification of opportunities for reduced net emissions- reduced emissions and or enhanced carbon sequestration- while achieving the same development objectives as in the reference scenario
- Economic assessment of low-carbon options in order to help the Nigerian government to prioritize policy options.
Partnerships for Universal Access to Modern Energy Services
The report 'Partnerships for Universal Access to Modern Energy Services,' published by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) explores public-private partnerships (PPPs) as investment catalysts for achieving the goals of the UN Secretary-General's Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative.
It reports that a global investment of US$48 billion is required annually to achieve the SE4ALL's goal of universal energy access by 2030.The report demonstrates, through an analysis of over one dozen case studies, that successful PPPs and 5Ps (pro-poor PPPs) “can quickly and effectively accelerate the adoption of renewable energy technologies and improve incomes and standards of living, in the areas of the world that most urgently need them.” It concludes that investing in renewable energy can bring benefits that far outweigh the costs and also outlines recommendations for promoting renewable energy PPPs.
Upcoming Events
- Energy Management in Small and Medium Scale Industries: Preparing for ISO 50001 (Energy Management Standard), 28 - 30 October 2013
- Lecture Series "Energy in Development", 29 October 2013 - 28 January 2014
- International DAAD-Alumni Summer School - Sustainable Provision of Rural Renewable Energy with Focus on Financially Viable Solutions in Developing Countries, 04 – 14 November 2014
- The Changing Dynamics of Global Energy Markets, 04 – 05 November 2011
- Crowds and Climate Mobilizing: Crowds to Develop Ideas and Take Action on Climate Change, 06 – 08 November 2013
- The Energy Africa Conference, 07 – 08 November 2013
- Microgrid Deployment Workshop 2013, 08 – 09 November 2013
- Doha Carbon Energy Forum 2013, 11 – 13 November 2013
- Coal prospects in Southern Africa – Webinar, 13 November 2013
- Powering Africa: the Finance Options, 14 – 15 November 2013
- International Workshop on Small & Medium-scale Biogas, 26 – 28 November 2013
- Iraq Future Energy 2013, 26 – 28 November 2013
- International Conference on Climate Change, Water Resources and Disasters in Mountainous Regions: Building Resilience to Changing Climate, 27-29 November 2013
Visit the Events Portal to find more events or to add your own event.
Featured Jobs
