Improved access to renewable energy and energy services in the Mekong region by the EEP Mekong Programme. Christer Nyman, Divina Nidhiprabha EEP Mekong RCU 23 rd Fl, Two Pacific Place 142 Sukhumwit Road, Khlongtoey Bangkok 10110 Thailand
Background The Energy and Environment Partnership Programme With the Mekong Region (EEP Mekong), funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Nordic Development Fund, has been operating in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam since 2009. It aims at supporting wider provision and use of Renewable Energy (RE) and combating climate change. EEP Mekong provides funding for projects and studies related to the issues. It promotes public-private partnership for the development of innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms for renewable energy services. The programme completed its first phase of operations in 2012. The paper presents the highlights of the programme during the first phase. Overall Objectives and purpose Overall objective: to contribute to improved access to energy and energy services and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Purpose: broader range of renewable energy, waste to energy, and energy efficiency solutions (especially favourable to the rural poor) will be adopted in energy related policies and strategies and are being implemented by public and private actors, through a wider range of partnerships and funding mechanisms and increased funding opportunities. EEP Mekong Components Component 1: Support to national policy legislation and institutional framework Component 2: Development of RE, WTE and EE technologies and services Component 3: Information and capacity building EEP Mekong Calls for Proposals The call for proposals is the main vehicle in which the EEP grant is disbursed. Submission guidelines for calls of proposals include the following: 1. Eligibility: Eligible applicants are: NGOs, private companies, state enterprises, research and educational institutions. 2. Project activities: feasibility, pre-feasibility, pilot and demonstration projects.
3. Technical focus: biomass, biogas, biofuel, hydro, wind, solar, energy efficiency/conservation, waste to energy or a combination of two or more technical focus. 4. Geographical focus: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam 5. Funding Mechanism: The EEP contribution is principally aimed to supplement applicants' own funding as a non-reimbursable grant. Maximum amount of grant is 200,000 per project. 6. Project partners: A project must have at least two partners. It is advisable that projects include partners from both Mekong Partner Countries and the donor community. (Donor community include: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland). 7. Expected Outputs: a. Increased generation of energy from renewable resources and/or energy saving. b. Increased access to sustainable energy services c. Increased opportunities for employment and income generation d. Reduced emission of greenhouse gases The following activities have been implemented Pilot and demonstration projects on rural RE. Pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for renewable power, energy efficiency and waste to-energy. Pilot and demonstration projects on energy efficiency and waste-to energy. EEP Mekong has opened four calls for proposals so far. They were launched in October 2009, August 2010, January 2011 and June 2012 respectively. After the first three calls, a total of 32 projects have been contracted. These projects technical focuses are in biofuels, biogas, biomass, energy efficiency/energy conservation, hybrid, hydropower, renewable energy in general, solar, waste-to energy and wind. To date, nearly all implemented projects have been completed. Many are considered successful and are contributing to improved access to renewable energy in rural areas and to the energy mix of the countries where they are located. Examples of these projects are the following:
1. Thai Biogas Energy Company (TBEC) in collaboration with Lao-Indochina Group Public Company (LIG) opened the first large-scale biogas plant in Lao PDR on February 5 th 2013. This project among others will be presented in the paper. 2. Detailed Viability Study of Decentralised Small Scale Biodiesel Production in Lao PDR and First Pilot Implementation at District Level, The project has been selected as the best project from Lao PDR by the Energy Globe Award Foundation. 3. Demonstration of Appropriate Energy for Floating Communities Project in Cambodia. This project utilises animal waste to produce biogas for use of households and small businesses in Tonle Sap, Cambodia. The project seeks to strengthen the capacity of one of the most vulnerable populations in Cambodia so they develop and market waste-to-energy products that will improve their health, livelihood and environment. 4. Market introduction of the medium-scale plug-flow biogas digester in Vietnam. The project is developing and stimulating a sustainable commercial medium-scale biogas digester market to provide Vietnam with sustainable energy, benefit from its costs and time reductions, reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and enhance the health and environment of communities through improved manure management. Milestones 2009-2013 Four calls for proposal Received a total of 438 concept notes/project proposals 31 projects completed while another six new projects have started implementation in 2013 Projects involved a total 32 partners from EEP Mekong partner countries and organisations from the donor countries: Finland, Sweden and Denmark as well as other countries such as France, the Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, Belgium and the US. Organised three regional fora in the last three years, the first in Vientiane, second in Bangkok and third in Hanoi. The fourth regional forum will be held in Siem Reap on 24 October. Cumulative total of participants to EEP Mekong annual regional fora: 600 people.
Distribution of projects by Technical Focus, Activity and Partner Country Technical focus Biofuel : 3 Biomass : 4 Biogas: 3 Wind: 2 Mini-hydro power: 3 Solar: 5 Waste-to-energy: 3 Energy efficiency/conservation: 2 Hybrid (combination of two or more RE technologies: 6
Activity Pre-feasibility study: 2 Feasibility study: 7 Pilot project: 16 Demonstration project: Partner Country: Cambodia: 8 Lao PDR: 9 Thailand and Regional: 6 Vietnam: 8 Project overview CAMBODIA Promoting and Demonstrating Energy Conservation in Siem Reap (Lead Partner: Cambodian Climate Change Department CCCD ) The project aims to raise general public awareness on energy efficiency and climate change issues, promote adoption of selected EE practices and improve capacity of selected government offices. The project is based in Siem Reap which has seen high growth from tourism) and resultant increase in energy demand and pollution. Improving Access to Solar for Rural Electrification in Cambodia by Removing Financial and Technical Barriers (Lead Partner: Kamworks Ltd.) The project aims to develop, implement and thereby demonstrate two sustainable and affordable solar energy systems for (1) solar ( Moon Light or ML) lanterns for poor households (for lights and charging phones), and (2) solar home (electric) systems (SHS) for better off households (to charge solar deep-cycle batteries and provide power for e.g. fan, TV).
Demonstration of Appropriate Energy for Floating Communities Project (Lead Partner: Live and Learn) The project aims to develop and demonstrate biodigester and solar pilot implementations which are appropriate for floating communities. These should have multiple benefits including energy, human health, agricultural productivity, etc. Models in Energy System Design and Policy Planning (Lead Partner: Tampere University of Technology TUT ) The main goal of this project is to build capacity of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC) to carry out training in energy planning, modelling and related subjects. This will be carried out by preparing (e.g. training material, logistics, etc) and implementing 5 training courses for ITC staff (training of trainers) and the provision of some computers and software. Solar-powered drinking water in Kampot Province (Lead Partner: Rain Water Cambodia RWC ) The core of this project is to establish and operationalize two solar powered installations in a village in Kampot Province: Solar powered piped village water supply for 60 households including solar array / battery unit, pump, borehole, water tower, gravity fed pipe distribution system. Solar powered electricity supply for lighting and fans for the commune building and primary school (280 pupils) including solar array / battery unit, wiring, lighting and fans. Installation of solar water supply and solar battery charging station (Lead Partner: Peace and Development Aid Organization PDAO ) The core of this project is to establish and operationalize two solar powered installations in a rural village in Kampot: A solar water pumping system (SWPS) located at a Veal Kraksaing village school and designed to provide water for the school (307 pupils) and nearby houses. This will require a solar array / battery unit, pump, borehole, water tower and local distribution system.
A solar powered battery charging station (SBCS) in Chey Ta Svay village. This will include a backup diesel generator. Biomass Monitoring and Harvest Planning System for Renewable Energy (Lead Partner: Groupe Energies Renouvelables, Environnement et Solidarités GERES ) The core project aims to develop a complete package / model for sustainable / renewable community-based charcoal production for income. This will be based on an improved charcoal production system (Yoshimura kiln, fixed system, controlled temperatures), community forestry (officially approved management plan, Village Forest Committee), biomass inventory and extraction monitoring system, and community organised / cooperative charcoal production (coordinated through the VFC). Micro-hydro and solar for poverty reduction and biodiversity on the Mekong (Lead Partner: Cambodian Rural Development Team CRDT ) The project aims to improve the living standards for the majority of households in of two communities through installation of micro-hydro and solar lantern charging stations, and providing training and small grants to improvise income (selected households).
LAO PDR Interlinkages between Energy and Livelihood: Data, Training and Scenarios for Sustainable Energy Planning in Laos INES (Lead Partner: Finland Futures Reseach Centre, Turku University FFRC ) The project aims to improve government capacity for sustainable long-term energy planning and decision making through improved data systems, modelling tools and capacity building of government staff. Rehabilitation of Hydroelectric Power Plants Distribution Network Using New Technology (PMG) Permanent Magnet Generator Solutions and Distribution Network in Lao PDR (Lead Partner: National Consulting Group NCG ) The project aims to support development of improved hydroelectric power generation and distribution through carrying out 5 feasibility studies, for rehabilitation at 2 existing power plants and for 3 new sites. These are for small hydropower plants (less than 15 MW) in Luang Prabang, Champasak and Saravanh provinces. The total installed capacity would be 15 MW. Green electricity for 24 villages of the Phongsaly District of Lao PDR (Lead Partner: Electriciens san Frontieres ESF ) The project aims to establish a sustainable, village-based system to provide access to electricity through pico-hydro in 24 poor, remote and off-grid villages in the Phongsaly District. The installations are for the whole villages where electricity id distributed to households on limited basis. Villagers are responsible for the operations and maintenance of the installations. TBEC Biogas Project in Lao PDR (Lead Partner: Thai Biogas Energy Company Limited TBEC ) The core of the project is to construct a biogas plant to treat the wastewater from a cassavafed starch factory, produce biogas (mostly methane and carbon dioxide) through anaerobic digestion, and sell the biogas back to the starch factory to replace coal for heating to dry the starch.
Rural electrification planning and demo in Luang Prabang Province ( Lead Partner: Fondation pour le Monde FONDEM ) The project can be thought of as three, almost separate sub-projects, which are linked through their common goal of developing renewable energy based rural electrification in Luang Prabang Province. The three sub-projects are: Part A: Install and operationalise one hybrid solar PV - diesel generator power plant (of 5-10 kwp) with mini local distribution network in one village of around 600 people. Part B: Prepare and disseminate a viable renewable energy-based electrification programme covering 30 to 40 remote off-grid rural villages. Decentralised small scale biodiesel production at District level (Lead Partner: Lao Institute of Renewable Energy LIRE ) The project aims essentially to (1) test and refine biofuel reactor technology (in laboratory and then an on-site biodiesel reactor) to produce international quality biodiesel from locally available Jatropha Curcas or other crops (the testing stage) Energy Self Sufficiency Village (Energy Management and Conservation Office, Khon Kasen University EMCO ) This is essentially a one-off implementation project to construct and operationalise a standalone renewable energy electricity generating plant using local agricultural waste and gasification technology. This is for one remote village of around 400 people in Xayaburi province. Pre-feasibility Study of the Wind potential in Lao PDR (Lead Partner: Tractebel) This project is a preliminary study aimed at supporting the development of wind energy in Laos. The end result of the study will be a definition of the most promising regions for wind energy development in Lao PDR, wind measurements in three locations and a wind farm layout for the most promising sites with cost indication.
Off-grid flow-of-the-river micro hydro power plant for model village (Lead Partner: Grenzone Co., Ltd. Grenzone ) The core of this project is the establishment and operationalisation of a flow-of-river microhydro power plant (MHPP) for a village on Don Xom island in the Mekong River in Champasak province.
VIETNAM Multi-fuel supply chain, Vietnam (Lead Partner: Institute of Energy IE ) This is basically a study which aims to develop improved biomass supply chains based on multi-fuels for combined heat and power (CHP) plants and industrial boilers in Vietnam. The study aims also to enhance potential benefits for household income where opportunities arise. Optimization of Household Composite Biogas Project (Lead Partner: Sustainable Energy Development Consultancy JS company SEDCC) The project aims to upgrade the quality of the design, installation and operation of Household Composite Biogas (HCB) plants in Vietnam. There are currently more than 10,000 of these. Market introduction of the medium-scale plug-flow biogas digester (Lead Partner: SNV Netherlands Development Organisation SNV ) This project aims to develop a model for commercial replication of low-cost, medium-scale biogas digesters (30 to 500 m3) for medium-sized pig farms in Vietnam. The project will implement 10 pilot biogas plants on 10 farms in different areas to prove the system and provide demonstrations for subsequent (post-project) scaling up. The project works through four main components / Outputs: Innovative CDM-based financing for Nam Tha 2 hydro power project (Lead partner: Carbonium) The overall goal of the project is to provide independent power producers (IPP) with optimal technological and financing solutions / mechanisms they can implement to develop a small hydropower plant. The innovative financing scheme would be based on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), but is not limited to it. The project is a pilot project focusing on Nam Tha 2 HPP (~5 MW), but the solutions developed should be useful for other independent power producers using hydro power.
Feasibility study and plan for RE electricity system on An Binj Islet (Lead Partner: Golden Bridge Limited Company Golden Bridge ) The project aims to carry out all the preparatory (pre-investment) work needed to secure investment, construct and operationalise a sustainable hybrid renewable energy (probably wind, solar, diesel) electricity system for the whole of the An Binh islet (500 inhabitants). Commercialization of Biogas in the Mekong Delta (Lead Partner: Stichting ETC ETC ) The project aims essentially to establish and kick-start a commercial, market-based, demanddriven system for supply / construction / support services for farm-based, household, biogas digesters, and construct the first 600 digesters..the project involves a linked sequence of activities under different outputs Piloting pyrolytic cook stoves and sustainable biochar soil enrichment (Lead Partner: Care Danmark Care ) The project aims to introduce, test and improve the relatively new pyrolytic / biochar stoves plus soil enrichment system with 400 ethnic minority households in the upland / mountainous areas of Vietnam. Pyrolytic / biochar stoves work on a different principle from the conventional combustion stoves. The fuel is heated in a low oxygen environment to produce gases (methane) which burn to cook food, etc, and the residue is biochar (conventional stoves burn the fuel to ash). Biochar is a graphite-like form of carbon which has strong soil improvement properties (mainly from its high absorption powers). Pyrolytic stoves use agricultural and wood waste as fuel. Biodiesel Production from closed-algae growing systems using waste water of Ethanol Plant in Viet nam (Lead Partner: Nong Lam University NLU ) The project aims to develop and build a pilot biodiesel producing system with a low cost tubular photobioreactors (PBR) to grow microalgae using wastewater and CO2 source from a cassava ethanol plant as well as biodiesel processing. The pilot plant should be fully tested and evaluated, and proposals made for scaling up.
THAILAND Integrated energy solutions in agro-farming Pilot-phase in shrimp farming (Lead Partner: International Copper Association South East Asia ICA SEA ) The project aims to fully develop, prove and promote implementation of a complete package with solar energy and high efficiency motors (HEM) for shrimp farming with private sector financing. Implementation will involve the farmers taking loans for the solar / HEM equipment, the suppliers providing and installing the equipment, and the financiers providing the loans. Waste to Energy for Economic Development and Environmental Health (Lead Partner: Action Aid International Action Aid ) The project s purpose is defined as to demonstrate the efficiency of alternative fuel sources (agricultural waste) as a means of sustainable environmental conservation. The project has established Environmental Learning Centers in two hill tribe villages in Chiang Rai province, Thailand and has trained the villagers to produce charcoal briquettes from agricultural waste. The briquettes can be used for cooking or can be sold to generate additional income. The production of densified RDF from MSW for use as co-fuel in biomass power plant (Lead Partner: STFE Co. Ltd STFE ) The project aims to pilot test and refine the whole system for the production of densified Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) from the high calorific portion of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to be used as a co-fuel in a biomass power plant
REGIONAL Community Based Integrated Solar Water Systems Pilot Project (Lead Partner: Population and Community Development Association PDA ) The project aims essentially to set up solar piped water systems (SPWS) and support some income generating activates and related community development for 4 communities in Thailand (1 at Chakkarak PDA Training Centre and others in Nong Pluang, Ban Phai and Phuttaisong), two (2) in Lao PDR and two (2) in Cambodia. Multi-fuel biomass feasibility study and capacity planning (Lead Partner: Wiltrain Consulting Oy Wiltrain ) The project aims to address the lack of knowledge in the region on using several types of solid biofuel in multi-fuel mixtures, and designing boilers to suit multi-fuel mixtures by strengthening PSU s capacity to become Southeast Asia s centre for biomass combustion research and training. Mekong waste refinery for zero land fills (Lead partner: Asian Institute of Technology AIT ) The project aims to improve knowledge, understanding and commitment of four selected cities / municipalities in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, through four main activities: Feasibility study for biogas production from 2 landfills, awareness raising of top city decision makers, technical training, community-based demonstration projects for biogas. Conclusion 31 were projects successfully completed. These have provided benefits in terms of employment, improved living conditions, reduced GHG emissions and increased access to renewable energy in rural areas of partner countries. These also include the continuing support for sustainability, replication and dissemination. The 2 nd phase of the programme will start from 2014.