REEEP and ESMAP Highlight Successful Low Carbon Energy Projects

October 27 2010

Underlining the overall International Renewable Energy Conference theme of how to upscale and mainstream renewable energy technologies, the official side event hosted by REEEP and ESMAP (the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, a multi-donor program hosted by the World Bank), highlighted four successful renewable energy projects, drawn from a variety of settings. These included urban and rural, and a variety of renewable energy technologies ranging from solar and mini hydro to geothermal.

The objective of the joint REEEP/ESMAP side event was to demonstrate to developing countries ways of overcoming key policy, institutional, and microfinance barriers in improving access to low carbon energy. The theme of the event was, "Widening access to low carbon energy: REEEP and ESMAP examples in overcoming barriers." It was held on Wednesday, 27th October, and attracted more than 50 people.

Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference 2010 (DIREC) is the fourth in the series of global ministerial-level conferences on the significance of renewable energy for sustainable development. It is an international platform for government, private sector, and civil society leaders to jointly address the goal of advancing renewable energy.

Cindy Suh, Senior Strategy & Operations Officer from ESMAP outlined a successful project in the Philippines that aimed for sustainable development of the renewable energy market in the Philippine power sector.

Alejandro Peraza-Garcia, the Director General of Mexico’s National Regulatory Commission, gave an overview of a REEEP-funded initiative for framing energy regulations to promote the geothermal industry in Mexico.

Staying with the Mexican setting, Ariel Yepez-Garcia, a Senior Energy Specialist at the World Bank presented a project on how to promote mini-hydro development there, giving a contrast to the approach of two different renewable energy technologies in the same country.

H. Harish Hande, the founder of SELCO Solar Lighting, described his company’s efforts in India to use innovative financing models to deliver both clean energy and the opportunity to generate income.
The presentations were followed by a question and answer session.

“The event gave an excellent cross-section of the successful application of a wide range of renewable technologies,” said Binu Parthan, the moderator of the event and REEEP’s Deputy Director General, “and it highlighted that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the renewable energy transformation.”

Source: REEEP News

Contact: Heidi Stensland, ESMAP

Emai: esmap@worldbank.org