US Agency for International Development - 1 - South Asia Regional Quarterly Update – Oct thru Dec 2010 FEATURED ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE QUARTER SOUTH ASIA WOMEN IN ENERGY PARTNERSHIP EXECUTIVE PEER EXCHANGE ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY, CONSERVATION AND THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE ENERGY SECTOR As part of the South Asia Regional Renewable Energy Partnership, the U.S. Energy Association organized a five-day executive exchange for twelve South Asian electricity executives from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to attend the International Conference of Conservation, Energy Efficiency & Solar, October 25 – 29, 2010, hosted by the Pakistan Engineering Council, along with the launch of a Pakistan Women in Energy Center based in Islamabad, Pakistan. The conference, attended by approximately 300 local and international participants, included panel discussions on gender awareness in energy, renewable energy applications, climate change, and energy efficiency. The conference was formally opened by President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr Presidency building. President Zardari, joined by U.S. Ambassador Ms. Robin Raphel, conference participants and diplomatic corps representatives, cited energy conservation as a major challenge confronting the country and called for a role for women in creating awareness about needs and methods for the optimal use of energy. The President said women should take the first step in achieving energy efficiency by proposing ways and means of reducing the electricity load at all important places. Over the course of the next five days, delegates took part in discussions on the role of gender in energy poverty, modern building codes, the use of renewable energy to increase home income, energy conservation policies and financing, along with a wide array of energy efficiency and renewable energy “success stories” in Pakistan as well as the rest of the region. Conference participants also participated in site visits to bio-gas water pumping units and water pumping through solar energy, as well as PV systems to support dug wells and fruit dehydration. The International Conference on Conservation, Energy Efficiency & Solar was an opportunity for the SARI/Energy executives to share their interest in renewable energy and conservation with their female peers in Pakistan, as well as participate in discussions focused on fostering personal and professional growth and leadership abilities within their communities, strategies for effectively utilizing opportunities in the energy sector for a more sustainable environment and promote an improved living standard for women and families. Energy executives from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka examined the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency applications in the Pakistan and South Asian power sectors. The conference furthered the executives’ knowledge of modern technologies, financing strategies, policies, and successful project development methodologies, to foster renewable energy production and energy conservation in South Asia. Left: Delegates receive a demonstration of a 16 horsepower diesel engine converted on dual fuel and run successfully for pumping ground water and generating electricity simultaneously. In the dual fuel approach, the diesel engine remains essentially unmodified, except for the addition of a gas-air mixing chamber on the air-intake manifold, as the air filter can be used as a mixing chamber.
Transcript
US Agency for International Development
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South Asia Regional Quarterly Update – Oct thru Dec 2010
FEATURED ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE QUARTER
SOUTH ASIA WOMEN IN ENERGY PARTNERSHIP EXECUTIVE PEER EXCHANGE ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY, CONSERVATION AND THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE ENERGY SECTOR
As part of the South Asia Regional Renewable Energy Partnership, the U.S. Energy Association organized a five-day executive exchange for twelve South Asian electricity executives from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to attend the International Conference of Conservation, Energy Efficiency & Solar, October 25 – 29, 2010, hosted by the Pakistan Engineering Council, along with the launch of a Pakistan Women in Energy Center based in Islamabad, Pakistan. The conference, attended by approximately 300 local and international participants, included panel discussions on gender awareness in energy, renewable energy applications, climate change, and energy efficiency. The conference was formally opened by President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr Presidency building. President Zardari, joined by U.S. Ambassador Ms. Robin Raphel, conference participants and diplomatic corps representatives, cited energy conservation as a major challenge confronting the country and called for a role for women in creating awareness about needs and methods for the optimal use of energy. The President said women should take the first step in achieving energy efficiency by proposing ways and means of reducing the electricity load at all important places. Over the course of the next five days, delegates took part in discussions on the role of gender in energy poverty, modern building codes, the use of renewable energy to increase home income, energy conservation policies and financing, along with a wide array of energy efficiency and renewable energy “success stories” in Pakistan as well as the rest of the region. Conference participants also participated in site visits to bio-gas water pumping units and water pumping through solar energy, as well as PV systems to support dug wells and fruit dehydration. The International Conference on Conservation, Energy Efficiency & Solar was an opportunity for the SARI/Energy executives to share their interest in renewable energy and conservation with their female peers in Pakistan, as well as participate in discussions focused on fostering personal and professional growth and leadership abilities within their communities, strategies for effectively utilizing opportunities in the energy sector for a more sustainable environment and promote an improved living standard for women and families. Energy executives from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka examined the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency applications in the Pakistan and South Asian power sectors. The conference furthered the executives’ knowledge of modern technologies, financing strategies, policies, and successful
project development methodologies, to foster renewable energy production and energy conservation in South Asia.
Left: Delegates receive a demonstration of a 16 horsepower diesel engine converted on dual fuel and run successfully for pumping ground water and generating electricity simultaneously. In the dual fuel approach, the diesel engine remains essentially unmodified, except for the addition of a gas-air mixing chamber on the air-intake manifold, as the air filter can be used as a mixing chamber.
US Agency for International Development
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South Asia Regional Quarterly Update – Oct thru Dec 2010
AFGHANISTAN CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM - SKILL BASED PROGRAM ON RELAY PROTECTION SYSTEMS
The SARI/Energy Program, under its Task Order for Afghanistan Power Sector Capacity Building, conducted a two-week course to provide participants with hands-on experience with equipment of Protection and Relay Systems at the facilities of manufacturers and utilities. This Protection and Relay System Program was conducted by the Central Institute for Rural Electrification (CIRE), Hyderabad, India in association with the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturing Association (IEEMA). The unique partnership offered the participants the best of both theory and practice. The first week of the Program was at the facilities of the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) switchgear training center at Conoor, Tamilnadu; and, the second week was conducted at the facilities of Easun Reyrolle, Hosur, Tamilnadu. The objectives of this two week program were:
• Understanding of the various types of relays and their applications with respect to generation, distribution and transmission applications
• Skills for testing and commissioning of protective relays and instrument transformers
• Hands-on experience on major sub-station equipments involved in relaying
Sixteen engineers from the generation, transmission and distribution sectors of the Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) participated in the training.
Skills based training on an 11 kV recloser at the L&T Training Center in Conoor, Tamilnadu.
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South Asia Regional Quarterly Update – Oct thru Dec 2010
Viewing National Power Transmission Corporation’s (NPT)Substation and Control Centre outside of Ho Chi Minh City.
SMALL MERCHANT BANK APPROACH
The Small Merchant Bank Approach (SMBA) seeks to improve the situation of the lower economic strata of society with small scale infrastructure and associated productive use investments. The SMBA is promoted by the Small – Scale Sustainable Infrastructure Development Fund (S3IDF), Boston, Massachusetts and Bangalore, India. The projects are explicitly pro-poor. An enterprise’s cash flow must cover capital and operating costs from implementation onwards. Projects are chosen which are highly replicable. Debt equity guarantees range from USD 500 to USD 40,000. Entrepreneurs have capital at risk. S3IDF recently concluded work in Sri Lanka for the SARI/Energy Program, and a workshop was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on October 2, 2010.
EXECUTIVE EXCHANGE TO SMART GRIDS ASIA 2010 Under the South Asia Regional Energy Regulation Partnership, the U.S. Energy Association supported the attendance of twelve energy professionals from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka at Smart Grids Asia in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The exchange, held November 30 to December 3, 2010, afforded the executives the opportunity to network with utility representatives from the Asia-Pacific region to discuss what has been occurring in the area of smart grids while also hearing how they were addressing the issues of supply quality and efficiency in their respective countries. During the five-day exchange, the delegates attended a pre-conference session and conducted a site visit to National Power Transmission Corporation’s (NPT’s) substation and control center outside of Ho Chi Minh City. The conference ran for two-days with opening regulator and utility panel discussions focusing on standards and reliability followed by concurrent session presentations. The concurrent sessions were:
• Asset Management: system, strategies, processes
• Quality of Supply and Efficiency: case studies of T&D utilities
• Knowledge sharing session • Smart Grids Initiatives and
Developments • Moving Slowly and Steadily Towards
Smart Grids • Enabling Engineering Solutions
Towards the Next Generation of T&D Systems
SMBA workshop, Colombo, Sri Lanka, October 1, 2010.
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South Asia Regional Quarterly Update – Oct thru Dec 2010
EXECUTIVE EXCHANGE TO 2nd IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES Under the South Asia Regional Energy Regulation Partnership, the United States Energy Association hosted fourteen energy professionals from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in Kandy and Colombo, Sri Lanka, December 5 to 10, 2010, to participate in the Second Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies (IEEE-ICSET 2010). The Conference focused on renewable energy, with a particular emphasis on generation and distribution. This was the second conference in a regular series of international biennial conferences being planned to bring together professionals and executives in the energy sector, electrical power companies, manufacturing industries, research institutes, and educational bodies to share and exchange ideas and information pertaining to sustainable energy technologies. The conference covered advances in the energy industry, including: solar photovoltaic and thermal energy, wind energy systems, fuel cells systems, other renewable and alternate energy systems, smart and micro grids, energy storage systems, energy efficiency in utilization, intelligent energy transmission and distribution, electrical energy market management and economics, and environmental issues. As a result of their participation, SARI/Energy delegates were given an opportunity for greater regional cooperation and information exchange on sustainable energy practices, particularly utilizing renewable energy. The delegates gained knowledge of the implementation of sustainable energy technologies and practices, as well as increased awareness of the importance of sustainable energy technologies due to the depletion and rising cost of non-renewable energy resources, energy security, its access, and environmental impacts of energy usage; and improved understanding of the Sri Lankan energy sector, its strengths and weaknesses and current projects to improve and increase the sector.
SARI/Energy candidates to the Second Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies (IEEE-ICSET 2010), along the beach at Colombo, Sri Lanka, December 5 through 10, 2010.
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South Asia Regional Quarterly Update – Oct thru Dec 2010
SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM
• Bharathiya Vikas Trust (BVT), Karnataka, India, has conducted 30 capacity building programs and trained a total of 1,227 officials (surpassing the 900 officials as envisaged in the proposal) of more than 110 Cooperative Societies in more than 430 branches. These programs were aimed at addressing the constraints of end user financing and increasing the capacity of grass root level institutions and cooperative credit societies for financing of solar energy products in rural areas.
• Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG) has formed and assisted the Renewable Energy Development Co-op Society Ltd (REDCO) for income generation activities and awareness generation for sustainable development of the Durbuk Block, Leh District, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. Thirty youths have been trained in solar technologies and their applications. They have also been trained in repairing solar lanterns. They are now able to repair the solar lanterns in the villages, thereby and earning money. 22 women from Self Help Groups (SHG’s) have been trained in wool transformation using electrical tools like wool spinning and carding machines. Further, 23 members of REDCO have been trained in cooperative management and entrepreneurship.
Solar lantern maintenance course by LEDeG.
Off grid solar lighting equipment on display at the BVT capacity building program in the town of Udupi.
BVT capacity building program in the village of Haliyala.
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South Asia Regional Quarterly Update – Oct thru Dec 2010
• The Centre for Rural Technology (CRT) Nepal, has completed a project on “Hydro-home System for Lighting Rural Households in High Hills in Nepal”. Under this project CRT has installed eighteen units of Motor Dynamo based Family Hydro (MDFH) technology for meeting the rural energy needs of twenty households through domestic lighting. CRT has shared the learning of the project among stakeholders and decision and policy makers both at district and central level for creating enabling environment for wider dissemination of the technology in future.
REGIONAL CENTRE OF WOMEN IN SUSTAINABLE ENERGY RESEARCH (WISER)
Work at WISER is progressing steadily, with concentrated energies on various activities that make the new organization a viable and well known entity. Following the introduction of new WISER Director to the SAWIE team and other potential partners in early October the work plan of the center was finalized in consultation with USAID. As a first step towards outreach effort the WISER Centre’s brochure was published and shared among prospective
partners within India and the SARI/Energy program countries. Its website is under development and legal aspects of clearing the Centre’s trademark for its spirited logo is underway. The following activities have been undertaken for WISER’s medium and longer term sustainability from October to December 2010: To ensure technical and mentoring support from the Energy Management Centre that has been USAID’s partner while launching the centre a EMC – WISER Mutual Support Plan was finalised between the two Directors. This will ensure technical support to WISER on an as-needed basis. On the basis of the work plan and in line with capacity building efforts to be undertaken by WISER the list of equipments for the Clean Energy Laboratory were finalised and procurement of equipment and materials initiated. Renovation and customization of the Clean Energy Laboratory area has been finished; installation and appropriate customization will occur as equipment arrives. Development of Training Modules relevant to the Clean Energy Laboratory are underway. Collaborations with other organizations involved in energy and gender are actively being pursued. WISER’s participated in DIREC 2010, New Delhi India. WISER’s approach on clean energy access was also presented during Pakistan’ s launch of Women in Energy Centre, and at the Global Energy Parliament at the Mascot Hotel, Trivandrum. This was followed by a participation and presentation roundtable on gender and diversity at the workplace organized by Women's World Banking as part of the ACCESS to Microfinance Summit in Delhi. Clean energy applications are being reviewed and lessons documented as part of the development of thematic training material to be used at WISER, such as the application of biomass dryers at fishing villages in coastal zones.
Right: MDFH being demonstrated at CRT-N facility in Kathmandu.
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South Asia Regional Quarterly Update – Oct thru Dec 2010
ONGOING AND FORTHCOMING ACTIVITES Cross-Border Trade
• The ceremony to launch the “South Asia Transmission Utility Regional Network (SATURN)” will be held in New Delhi on Monday, March 21, 2011. Representatives from Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka will be participating. This will be a working group team of technical experts to advance the inter-country transmission interconnections in the region.
• USEA and USAID are sponsoring the “South Asia & Central Asia Executive Workshop on Best
Practices in Electricity Transmission and Distribution” in New Delhi. The objective of the workshop is to present best practices in electricity transmission and distribution, and to identify possible improvements to the efficiency and reliability of these systems for South Asian and Central Asian countries. (March 21 to 23, 2011, New Delhi)
• SARI/Energy, in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will be hosting a “Round Table Conference on Promoting Investment Opportunity in Power Sector in South Asia: Leveraging Cross Border Trading.” See the SARI/Energy website for details; or contact Mr. Ajay Jain at [email protected](April 27, 2011, New Delhi, India)
• Discussion and preparation have started for conducting later in the year a Regional Certification Course for Power Market Traders. The objective is to establish persons within key stakeholders who by their certification become resource persons to the stakeholders as energy markets are advanced in the region. The Course will be targeted to utilities, regulators, bankers, lawyers, ministerial and governments involved in growing the regional energy markets.
• Tetra Tech and Hagler Bailly Pakistan continue to meet, and coordinate, with the CASA 1000 technical
working group on the project development.
• As part of the South Asia Regional Energy Transmission Partnership Program, a delegation from Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka will participate in the Annual Management and Coordination Meetings of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). (February 7 through 12, 2011, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe)
Energy Markets
• As part of the South Asia Regional Energy Regulation Partnership Program, a delegation from Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka is sponsored to attend the "29th International Training Program on Utility Regulation and Strategy" organized by the Public Utility Research Center and the World Bank. (January 10 through 21, 2011, Gainesville, Florida, U. S. A.)
Clean Energy Access
• WISER will conduct a “Capacity Building Program of Women on Clean Energy Technologies and
Applications” workshop on March 8 and 9, 2011 in Trivandrum, Kerala, India. The workshop is for women self-help group members to become master trainers (a) through demonstration and application oriented training about off-grid solar lighting technologies and applications; plus, (b) promoting awareness on energy conservation practices and clean energy sources. See the SARI/Energy website for details, or contact Ms. R. V. Jayapadma at [email protected] at WISER.
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South Asia Regional Quarterly Update – Oct thru Dec 2010
• WISE will conduct a “Regional Workshop on Women, Energy, and Enterprise Building” from April 4th to 7th, 2011 in Trivandrum. The objective of the workshop is to develop a roadmap and recommendations for interventions in capacity building, technical support and financial women’s entrepreneurship in clean energy applications and services through critical review and synthesis of relevant energy projects and practices across South Asia. See the SARI/Energy website for details, or contact Ms. R. V. Jayapadma at [email protected] at WISER.
• The Inception Report about the Social Merchant Bank Approach (SMBA) of the Small - Scale Sustainable Infrastructure Development Fund (S3IDF) will be published in the first quarter of 2011. Also the “Reconnaissance Report: Sri Lanka” detailing opportunities for SMBA will be published in the first quarter of 2011.
• SARI/Energy is co-sponsoring a three-day regional forum on sustainable lighting that will be held from
January 17 to 19, 2011, in Male’, Maldives. The "South Asia Lighting Transformation Forum" is also sponsored by the Regional Centre for Lighting (RCL), the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA), and the State Electricity Company of the Maldives (STELCO). The forum will focus on new developments in solid state lighting and potential approaches of governments, donor agencies, businesses and the financial community to encourage its adoption in South Asia. His Excellency Mohamed Nasheed, President of Maldives is scheduled to deliver the Forum’s opening address. Concurrent with the forum will be the first Annual Meeting of RCL.
• As part of the South Asia Regional Renewable Energy Partnership Program, a delegation from
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are sponsored to attend the "Renewable Energy World Conference and Expo North America", featuring technical sessions related to technology, markets, business strategies, and policy covering the wind, solar, biomass, hydro, geothermal, ocean/tidal/wave, bio-power, bio-fuels, and hydrogen energy sectors. (March 8-11, 2011; Tampa, Florida)
• As part of the South Asia Regional Renewable Energy Partnership Program, a delegation from
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are sponsored to attend the "European Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition" for the European wind energy market, connecting over 7,000 of the key players together, including corporate leaders, investors, financiers, policy makers, and scientists. (March 14-18, 2011; Brussels, Belgium)
• As part of the South Asia Regional Renewable Energy Partnership Program, a delegation from
Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are sponsored to attend "World Biofuels Markets- Europe's Largest Biofuels Congress and Exhibit" where the leaders of the biofuels world meet to drive innovation and do business. (March 22-25, 2011; Rotterdam, Netherlands)
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South Asia Regional Quarterly Update – Oct thru Dec 2010
ABOUT SARI/ENERGY USAID’s SARI/Energy program promotes energy security in South Asia through three activity areas:
1) Cross-border energy trade
2) Energy markets
3) Regional clean energy access
Through these activities SARI/Energy facilitates more efficient regional energy resource utilization; works towards transparent and profitable energy practices, mitigates the environmental impacts of energy production, and increases regional access to energy.
SARI/Energy countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. SARI/Energy implementing partners include Tetra Tech, and the United States Energy Association (USEA). SARI/Energy provides support to partners and stakeholders on pre-feasibility studies, technical assistance, advisory services, training, peer exchanges, mapping and project development in each of the three core areas.
SARI/Energy Daily News Roundup
USEA distributes a daily bulletin of energy-related news from the SARI/Energy countries, along with notices of SARI/Energy activities and special events. The bulletin is distributed via email and includes web links to related articles. To receive the South Asia Energy Daily Online News Roundup contact: [email protected]
SARI/Energy Web Page
For current information on SARI/Energy activities, please visit the web page: www.sari-energy.org
