Edition 1: “Recovery and Resilience” - PART 2
In Part 2, Director of Clean Energy at Winrock International, Bikash Pandey, joins the discussion, bringing three decades of  experience in policy review, program design and implementation across all decentralized renewable energy (DRE) technologies. We chat about the missed opportunity of micro/mini hydropower as the mini-grid underdog, and best practices for supporting resilient, high social impact solutions providing lessons for the rural economic recovery needed ahead.

Join the discussion!
How do you think COVID-19 recovery and resilience can be shaped from the lens of energy access? 
​​What barriers prevent us from shifting from kilowatts to social impact?​

Over the next few days, we’ll be posting these questions and more, in our post-Chat social media forum. Share your insights on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 

• Twitter - @HPNEThydro
• Facebook - @hydroempowerment
• LinkedIn - Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET)

In case you missed it
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Earlier this year we released a new video, providing a glimpse of how local micro/mini hydro practitioners collaborate with off-grid communities to advance sustainable development. 

Check it out, to better understand small-scale hydro, “the underdog” of decentralized renewables, and its proven long-term socioeconomic benefits. 

WATCH: Who Are We: The Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET)
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Did you miss our fourth quarterly webinar, ​Mini-Grid Planning: Integrated Energy Planning for Rural Electrification? You can now watch it below!

SPEAKERS
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​DR. CATHERINA CADER
RESEARCH UNIT OFF-GRID SYSTEMS
REINER LEMOINE INSTITUTE, GERMANY 
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Dr. Catherina Cader is an expert in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and rural electrification planning. She has been working at Reiner Lemoine Institute since 2012 and is part of the Research Unit Off-Grid Systems. She is particularly interested in rural electrification planning in countries of the Global South with consideration of renewable energy. Catherina holds a PhD in Geography from Justus Liebig University Giessen. For her dissertation she conducted research on rural electrification planning in Nigeria. Her PhD project was supported by a scholarship from the Reiner Lemoine-Foundation. She also holds a Master of Science in Geography from Philipps University Marburg and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management from Justus Liebig University Gießen. Through field visits and self-developed trainings on the use of GIS for rural electrification planning, Catherina has great expertise on the political, geographical, economic, and technical challenges of local energy supply situations. By developing and applying GIS-based methods, she brings the spatial component into RLI research using open source software. Catherina has experience as a project manager in several projects – her work has taken her to various places including Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Nepal, Myanmar, and the Philippines.
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THEMATIC DISCUSSANT
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DIPTI VAGHELA
​NETWORK FACILITATOR AND MANAGER 
HYDRO EMPOWERMENT NETWORK (HPNET) 
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Dipti Vaghela is the co-founder and manager of the Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET), a south-south knowledge exchange platform that advances policy, technology, and socio-environmental aspects of small-scale hydropower across ten countries since established in 2013. Dipti brings sixteen years of experience in developing decentralized renewable energy solutions for rural electrification in S/SE Asia, bridging communities, local entrepreneurs, field-based NGOs, policy makers, and funding agencies. In 2016 she was awarded a Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship, placed at the Renewable Energy Association of Myanmar (REAM). Based in Myanmar, she supports and learns from Myanmar’s indigenous micro/mini hydropower, biomass energy, PV-irrigation practitioners. Dipti holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from San Jose State University.
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Over the last year, HPNET has shed light on the key factors for sustaining hydro mini-grids over the long-term. This webinar addressed the importance of social enterprise for ensuring mini-grid sustainability, featuring practitioners who are leading the transition from grant-dependent to enterprise-based hydro mini-grids. The speakers highlighted the potential for local social enterprise to support revenue-driven and equitable hydro mini-grids. 

The webinar presented:
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• The linkage between enterprise-based approaches and long-lived hydro mini-grids;
• Best practices to transition from grant-dependent to local social enterprise models, based on micro hydro experience in Nepal, Malaysia, and Indonesia;
• Solutions to scale their efforts to more micro hydro communities, including how to make better use of funding resources that currently go toward grant-dependent projects.

Introducing SEEED

The webinar also introduced a new HPNET initiative: Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological, and Economic Development (SEEED). The SEEED initiative aims to support local practitioners and micro hydro communities in the transition to enterprise-based approaches.

The webinar supported an initial objective of SEEED, by identifying and highlighting the work of practitioners who are already paving the path toward long-lived mini-grids anchored in local social enterprise.
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Stay tuned for more information on SEEED, to be released in coming weeks!

Collective research and hindsight within the Hydro Empowerment Network reveal that the long-term sustainability and impact of hydro mini-grids is dependent on how well the project is run as a viable and inclusive enterprise. This webinar – the 3rd in the series – will feature mini-grid practitioners in South and Southeast Asia who are leading the transition from grant-dependent to enterprise-based micro and mini hydropower projects.  The webinar will present:

• The linkage between enterprise-based approaches and long-lived hydro mini-grids;
• Best practices to transition from grant-dependent to local social enterprise models, based on micro hydro experience in Nepal, Malaysia, and Indonesia;
• Solutions to scale their efforts to more micro hydro communities, including how to make better use of funding resources that currently go toward grant-dependent projects.

Presentations will be followed by a Q/A session open to all participants.   

​Learn more about our 2019 Mini-Grid Webinar Series, hosted by WISIONS and energypedia here!

WEBINAR BACKGROUND

​​In contexts where small-scale, community-based hydro mini-grids have been scaled to thousands of communities, projects typically have been funded by grant or subsidy programs, e.g. Nepal and Indonesia.  The primary ownership and management structure in these projects has been user-based groups, e.g. village electrification committees (VECs), which can be inclusive but are challenged in achieving financial sustainability.  Most projects operate only for night-time use, although electricity is available 24 hours -- leading to minimal revenue generation.  Due to limited revenue, there is no savings.  So when repair and maintenance is required the VECs raise funds through door-to-door collection.  This is time intensive and a heavy burden for VEC leadership.

SPEAKERS


​RESHA PIYA
WINROCK INTERNATIONAL 
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Ms. Resha Piya is a Program Specialist at Winrock International, based in Nepal. She has more than 18 years’ experience in promoting and developing Renewable Energy sectors. She has extensive experience in the planning, design, implementation and providing technical backstopping, coordination, monitoring and the evaluation of various renewable and rural energy projects and water projects involving solar home systems, institutional solar home system, solar water pumping systems, mini/micro hydro power, biomass technologies and on the productive use of energy for enhancing sustainable rural livelihoods, economic growth and poverty reduction.  Ms. Piya has worked for Government of Nepal - Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) and its programs, Helvetas, Practical Action South Asia Regional office and Asian Development Bank. Ms. Piya is proficient in technical, administrative and managerial function and has a good knowledge and understanding of development issues. She is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer with MSc. in Renewable Energy and Master of Engineering in Energy and Environmental Management.

​THEMATIC DISCUSSANT

​DIPTI VAGHELA
​HYDRO EMPOWERMENT NETWORK (HPNET) 

Ms. Dipti Vaghela is the co-founder and manager of the Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET), a south-south knowledge exchange platform that advances policy, technology, and socio-environmental aspects of small-scale hydropower across ten countries since established in 2013. Dipti brings sixteen years of experience in developing decentralized renewable energy solutions for rural electrification in S/SE Asia, bridging communities, local entrepreneurs, field-based NGOs, policy makers, and funding agencies. In 2016 she was awarded a Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship, placed at the Renewable Energy Association of Myanmar (REAM). Based in Myanmar, she supports and learns from Myanmar’s indigenous micro/mini hydropower, biomass energy, PV-irrigation practitioners. Dipti holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from San Jose State University.
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MODERATOR
​
RANISHA BASNET
energypedia

Ms. Ranisha Basnet has more than 5 years of experience in knowledge management in the off-grid sector. She has worked with many national and international organizations to develop different knowledge products (webinars, database and knowledge portals) and also designed campaigns to raise awareness about the trending off-grid energy topics. Currently, she is writing her master thesis on “ Gender and Renewable Energy Mini Grids” and is attending the master program, Renewable Energy Engineering and Management at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

If you missed our second quarterly webinar last week, Mini-grid Financing:  Enabling the Role of Local Banks, you can watch it below!  

The webinar covers
- incentives for local banks to lend to RE mini-grids
- challenges for local banks and how development partners can alleviate them
- example of a 7-bank program (!) lending to RE mini-grids
- checklist for mini-grid developers to access local bank financing.

Special thanks to WISIONS, energypedia UG, and the speakers Kapila Subasinghe, Dinesh Dulal, and Margarita Manzo for making it possible.

Stay tuned for our next quarterly webinar, “Mini-Grid Sustainability: Transitioning to Enterprise-based Micro Hydro"  in September here!

Join our webinar next week on mini-grid financing solutions!

MINI-GRID FINANCING:  ENABLING THE ROLE OF LOCAL BANKS
DATE:  FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2019
TIME:  9AM EDT / 3PM CEST / 6:30 PM IST
REGISTER HERE

​Renewable energy mini-grids are a proven and cost-effective solution for sustainable energy access.  To date, scaled replication of mini-grids has largely depended on international development aid, most commonly as concessionary loans or grants to national government, which are then distributed as grants or subsidies to beneficiary communities.  However, in the case of hydro mini-grids access to credit can play a significant role in accelerating mini-grid implementation.

Where resources exist, small-scale hydropower produces the lowest cost energy.  Its techno-economic characteristics (e.g. lower levelized cost of energy, per kilowatt investment cost, and no need for energy storage) allow for economic viability with high social impact, including affordable tariffs, extensive productive end use, and viable grid interconnection. Because its hardware can be manufactured locally and maintained by local actors, micro and mini hydropower development imparts local skills, jobs and enterprise development. It also strengthens catchment areas and watershed protection, which in turn increases climate resilience and integrated development of rural communities.

While these financial viability and socio-economic impact aspects of hydro mini-grids make them conducive to soft loans, impact investment and other types of debt/equity, access to financing is a severe challenge for local, small-scale hydro practitioners across the global south.  International financiers find it difficult to lend to projects located in very remote areas, which is often the case with local micro and mini hydropower.  Therefore, local practitioners increasingly seek financing from local banks and other local financiers, who tend to be more accessible to local practitioners and amenable for dialogue that helps to clarify the local context and risks.  Local banks that lend to rural areas can particularly be more open to lending to mini-grids for energy access.
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However, in most cases local banks have little or no experience in lending to mini-grids.  They lack basic skills for project appraisal and servicing loans.  In addition, most countries lack banking regulations that would allow the loan tenures required for mini-grid pay-back periods, e.g. 7-10 years.  Collateral and interest rates are also critical obstacles for enabling local bank financing.  In some cases local banks do not have adequate capital funds for lending.  On the other hand, local developers also need skills building in developing the required documentation and data required to access local bank loans.

​In spite of these challenges, experience in South and Southeast Asia shows that local banks can be empowered to play a critical role in accelerating sustainable hydro mini-grids by lending to local practitioners.

​This webinar – the 2nd in a series of four webinars – will feature banks and financing specialists from South and Southeast Asia who have enabled local banks and local developers in the region to make financing available for small-scale hydro mini-grids.  Using specific examples, speakers will present:

• Why and how local banks are critical to replication of sustainable hydro mini-grids
• Incentives for local banks in lending to hydro mini-grids and local developers
• How local banks can build internal capacity to lend to mini-grids
• How local developers can develop the necessary skills to access local bank financing
• How banking regulatory challenges can be overcome
• Roles of government and donors help to accelerate the process of enabling local bank financing.

 
Presentations will be followed by a Q/A session open to all participants.  ​​Learn more about our 2019 Mini-Grid Webinar Series, hosted by WISIONS and energypedia here!

DINESH DULAL
NMB Bank Ltd.
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Mr. Dinesh Dulal has completed Master’s Degree in Management and Bachelor’s Degree in Law. He has spent almost 18 years in banking sector, out of which he has spent more than 10 years in renewable energy financing. Currently, he is the Department Head of Energy and Development Organization Department at NMB Bank Ltd., Kathmandu, Nepal. He has played an instrumental role in renewable energy financing including micro hydro project financing. 

KAPILA SUBASINGHE
DFCC Bank PLC

​Mr Kapila Subasinghe is Vice President (Specialized Project Lending)/Head of Consulting, DFCC Bank and former Project Director of the World Bank and Global Environment Facility funded Renewable Energy for Rural Economic Development (RERED) Project of the Government of Sri Lanka. Mr Subasinghe has 25 years of experience in project management and lending. At DFCC Bank he has served both in SME and Corporate sectors, specializing in project financing including lending to off-grid and grid-connected renewable energy sectors. Further he has served in the Project Management Department managing national level credit lines to Sri Lanka from multilateral agencies. At present he serves as Manager, Project Implementation Unit of the ADB funded Rooftop Solar Power Generation Project of the Government of Sri Lanka. He has been a resource person to many local and international renewable energy forums, including for delegations to Sri Lanka from Asia and Africa to study the Sri Lankan renewable energy model. Mr Subasinghe holds a degree in civil engineering from University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka and is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK.

MARGARITA MANZO

​Ms. Margarita Manzo is an energy finance specialist and has a background in both early-stage financing as well as corporate and project finance for utility scale projects in Southeast Asia, East Africa, and Sri Lanka. Having worked at an impact fund, an investment bank, a large developer, and a start-up, she has seen the various issues companies and projects face to get funded. She is driven by a passion for getting projects off the ground and would like to see great startups focus less on fundraising and focus more on execution. She is currently developing a data-driven platform to connect investment-ready early stage energy companies with potential funders.  Margarita was most recently the Senior Investment Manager at Nexus for Development, where she managed Nexus’s portfolio of funds dedicated to supporting Asian energy, water, and sanitation enterprises serving underserved populations. She continues to serves as a consultant to the Nexus team. Margarita holds an MBA degree and an Energy & Finance Certificate from HEC Paris and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Engineering from Ateneo de Manila University.

RANISHA BASNET
energypedia

​Ranisha has more than 5 years of experience in knowledge management in the off-grid sector. She has worked with many national and international organizations to develop different knowledge products (webinars, database and knowledge portals) and also designed campaigns to raise awareness about the trending off-grid energy topics. Currently, she is writing her master thesis on “ Gender and Renewable Energy Mini Grids” and is attending the master program, Renewable Energy Engineering and Management at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

In partnership with the WISIONS of Sustainability Initiative and Energypedia, we are conducting a 4-part, quarterly webinar series on hydro mini-grids -- starting this month.   Join us!  Details below.

Renewable energy mini-grids are a cost-effective and reliable solution for energy access. Within the technologies available for mini-grids, micro/mini hydropower (MHP) has added advantages. It's techno-economic characteristics, such lower levelized cost of electricity, per kilowatt cost, and no need for battery storage, make it economically viable for grid interconnection and productive end use applications.

​Because MHP hardware can be manufactured locally and maintained by local actors, MHP development imparts local skills and jobs, which can evolve into local MHP enterprises. In addition, MHP strengthens catchment area and watershed protection, in turn increasing the climate resilience of vulnerable communities in hilly regions.

The number of hydro mini-grids in rural areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America far exceed other types of mini-grids. As a proven technology with an extensive track record, micro and mini hydropower is the focus in this mini-grid webinar series. The objective of the series is to facilitate exchange among diverse actors advancing small-scale hydro, and promote approaches that lead to long-term success and optimal local benefits. Each of the four webinars will respectively provide insight on MHP reliability, sustainability, financing, and planning for scalability.

WEBINAR 1, MARCH 28, 2019
MINI-GRID RELIABILITY:  THE ROLE OF TRAINING CENTERS FOR MICRO/MINI HYDROPOWER
Watch here:​

This year marks a new phase in HPNET’s development.  When we established the network in late 2013, we were 15+ members from 8 countries.  Now, 4 years later we’re 100+ members in 19 countries, including all of the who’s who of pico, micro, and mini hydro (MHP) in South and Southeast Asia.  From individuals like Mr. Gerhard Fischer to organizations like Practical Action South Asia and the Swiss Resource Center and Consultancies for Development (Skat), we’ve been fortunate to develop HPNET with the pioneers who created the foundation of our sector -- 30 years ago!  As we move into 2018, I’d like to overview sector developments of 2017 and provide a glimpse of what’s to come for HPNET this year. 

Strategic Advocacy of MHP

Across the region, MHP practitioners are increasingly facing an un-equal playing field because “mini-grids” are generalized as being synonymous to “solar PV mini-grids”.   The ultimate result of this phenomenon is missed opportunity to accelerate rural energy access toward SE4ALL goals.  Its root cause is that decision makers of international and government supported rural energy programs are technology agnostic but do not yet acknowledge technology differentiation, i.e. the cost-benefits of each type of mini-grid technology. 

To start addressing these critical gaps, in mid-2017 HPNET launched the "Mini-Grids Webinar Series" in partnership with Energypedia and the Skat Foundation.  The series featured themes that de-mystify the value-add of MHP toward meeting national electrification targets:

• Webinar 1, May 2017:  Differentiating Between Mini-Grid Technologies
• Webinar 2, June 2017: Grid Interconnection:  What happens to micro hydro projects when the national grid arrives?
• Webinar 3, July 2017:  Productive End Use of Micro Hydro: Three Examples of How to Make It Happen

With senior most experts as speakers, well-prepared content, interactive facilitation, and follow up knowledge products, the webinars attracted ~400 participants!   We realized that webinars can be a low carbon and effective solution to knowledge exchange, and therefore we look very forward to  launching our 2018 webinar series.

In addition to webinars and other online advocacy, HPNET works with seniors advisors to develop strategy and partnerships to empower proven local practitioners, ensuring they have access to an enabling environment for contributing their expertise to national electrification programs.

HPNET Operations and Outcomes
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At our last biennial gathering, in late 2016 in Kathmandu, we heard a resounding call from our members for a country-wise network operations structure, to instill inclusive decision-making for a growing and diverse membership.  Therefore, using a consensus-building approach in 2017, we refined our structure to include a Board of Representatives, Board of Advisors, Thematic Advisors, and a Secretariat, designed to support our Working Groups in creating country-specific and regional impact.  We’ve kicked off 2018 by operationalizing the new structure, building onto outcomes of our first 4 years.  

​HPNET’s formation and development thus far could not have been possible without the WISIONS of Sustainability initiative at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.  This month I took part in WISIONS’ webinar on energy practitioner networks to present HPNET’s approach and outcomes.  The webinar was a follow up to WISIONS' side event at the COP23, "From Paris to Action at Local Level in the Global South -- What Role Can Local Energy Practitioners and Existing Knowledge Networks Play," where I had the privilege to take part.

Cross-Regional Themes for 2018

HPNET’s approach to in-country impact relies on cross-regional knowledge exchange on thematic areas prioritized by HPNET members, namely:

• Grid Interconnection and Project-to-Project Interconnection
• Access-to-Financing
• Productive End Use and Financial Viability
• Socio-Environmental Sustainability
• Technical Training Centers and Tools
• GIS Mapping for Scalability
• Strategic Advocacy of MHP

With an enhanced network structure in place, key priorities identified, and a dynamic set of diverse members, I look very forward to the year ahead!  Please always reach out to us with ideas and inquiries.


Dipti Vaghela
Network Facilitator and Manager