Scaling up mini-grids
through public-private partnerships (PPP) is critical to achieving universal
access to modern energy services, concluded delegates attending an
international workshop jointly organised by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and
Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) Nepal here, today.
"Small-scale
renewable energy systems can help solve Nepal’s energy problems without
contributing to air pollution and to carbon emissions that cause global
warming," said senior climate change specialist at ADB Jiwan Acharya on
the last day of the two-day workshop on 'Sharing Business Models and Scaling up
Mini Grids in Asia and the Pacific'.
Minister of science,
technology and environment Keshab Man Shakya concluded the workshop today after
150 participants shared perspectives from energy enterprises, investors and
development partners on how to scale up successful business models through
public private partnerships.
A mini-grid is a small
electricity network that uses sources like hydro, solar and wind to generate
enough power to provide a cluster of towns and villages with reliable supply of
electricity that meets local demand.
"Nepal’s population
is dispersed across a wide and difficult to reach terrain where it is
technically and financially difficult to extend the national grid," said
secretary of the ministry of science, technology and environment Keshab Prasad
Bhattarai, adding that mini-grids are an important solution to bringing energy
to more communities in the country.
AEPC launched the
National Rural and Renewable Energy Programme from July, 2012, and it will seek
to scale up renewable energy technologies based on the key learnings from this
two-day workshop, according to executive director of AEPC Dr Govind Raj
Pokharel.
During the workshop,
AEPC shared experiences of a recently developed mini-grid system in Baglung,
which provides electricity to 1,200 households through six microhydro sites
generating a total of 107 kW.
An innovative example of
the Bushlight Model — Bushlight Australia and Bushlight India — was also shared
at the workshop, highlighting that the Bushlight model distinguishes itself
from existing models by enabling communities with the resources, capacity and
motivation, the opportunity to access electricity that is reliable 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, equitable, each consumer is assured access to a fixed
amount of energy every day of a known amount, and residents determine their own
‘daily energy budget’ through the facilitated ‘energy budgeting’ process apart
from a known cost as tariff levels are set prior to energy budgeting based on
realistic lifecycle system financial models.
Thirty-seven per cent of
the country's rural population still has no access to electricity. Across the
Asia-Pacific region, nearly 700 million people have no access to electricity.
Enterprises are ready to develop more mini-grid projects, but they need help
with business planning, design and access to funds.
The Energy for All
partnership was formed in 2009 to extend ADB’s support to like-minded
organisations and form a coalition that shares the objective of providing
modern energy access to 100 million people by 2015. Partners include the
governments of Japan, Austria, Australia, Norway, Denmark and Switzerland.
More funds for the
mini-grid and renewable energy sector are in the pipeline. Jointly with the
World Bank and International Finance Corporation, ADB has assisted Nepal in
preparing an investment plan for the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme to
access $40 million from the Climate Investment Funds to support off-grid
mini-and micro hydro projects.
"As a Scaling-up
Renewable Energy Programme pilot country, Nepal will be in the forefront of
efforts to show how tackling climate change is not a trade-off between economic
growth and carbon emissions, but a call for creative energy solutions,"
said ADB's country director for Nepal Kenichi Yokoyama.
"Access to
environmentally and socially sustainable energy is essential to reduce
poverty," he said, adding that Nepal needs to expand access to small scale
renewable energy systems across all parts of the country by mobilising grants,
loans, and private sector investments, while also building implementation
capacities to this end, and ADB is ready to provide necessary support in this
regard.
ADB, based in Manila, is
dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive
economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration.
Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members — 48 from the region.
Likewise, AEPC is the
national focal agency promoting renewable energy technologies across the
country. In July 2012, AEPC launched the National Rural and Renewable Energy
Program that will extend clean, reliable energy access to two million more
households by 2017.
AEPC has already
connected 1.7 million people to renewable energy solutions. 
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