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the flow

WATCH:  WEBINAR ON INTEGRATED ENERGY PLANNING

12/12/2019

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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!
 This webinar highlighted integrated energy planning initiatives from African and Southeast Asian contexts, including Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Malaysian Borneo.

The webinar covered:
  • The basic criteria for a robust integrated energy planning process
  • Examples of country-wide and sub-region programs in Africa and Asia that are advancing integrated energy planning and their hindsight
  • Voices of a diverse set of energy planning practitioners – including a private utility, national government, international development partner, and scientific research institute
  • Tools and processes for integrated energy mapping, modelling, and planning
    Challenges and potential solutions that require further support and strategy.

This webinar was made possible by Wisions and Energypedia UG. 
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JOIN US: DEC. 10 WEBINAR ON INTEGRATED ENERGY PLANNING

12/3/2019

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Join our webinar this month on integrated energy planning! 

MINI-GRID PLANNING: INTEGRATED ENERGY PLANNING FOR RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
DATE:  TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2019
TIME:  10 AM CET / 2:45 PM KATHMANDU / 5 PM KUALA LUMPUR
REGISTER HERE
The Hydro Empowerment Network seeks to provide a spotlight on energy planning practitioners that are advancing integrated energy planning for rural electrification. This webinar – the 4th in our series – will feature integrated energy planning initiatives from African contexts and S/SE Asian contexts, including Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Malaysian​ Borneo.

The webinar will include:

  • The basic criteria for a robust integrated energy planning process
  • Examples of country-wide and sub-region programs in Africa and Asia that are advancing integrated energy planning and their hindsight
  • Voices of a diverse set of energy planning practitioners – including a private utility, national government, international development partner, and scientific research institute
  • Tools and processes for integrated energy mapping, modelling, and planning
  • Challenges and potential solutions that require further support and strategy.

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

Although mini-grids are often boxed as a “pre-electrification” intervention, there is increasing evidence showing that mini-grids can achieve grid parity.  Further, in countries that allow mini-grids to feed in electricity to the central grid, mini-grids have actually made the central grid more reliable!


Hydro mini-grids especially meet these scenarios, providing 24-hour reliable electricity, typically at lower LCOE and costs per kW than most other types of mini-grids, and leading to lower tariffs for rural consumers. Thereof, hydro mini-grids are generally financially viable for motorized loads (e.g. agri processing productive end use) and for feeding into the central grid.

Despite their obvious advantages, in most developing contexts decentralized renewable energy mini-grids continue to be framed as “pre-electrification” solutions at par with solar home lighting, or “not as important as the central grid.”  Often mini-grid development is housed in a separate and less influential ministry, while the central grid authorities have ultimate power and financial resources. Such a fragmented approach leads to:
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  • Redundant electrification interventions, and therefore wasteful use of funding resources
  • Confusion on timing of arrival of the central grid, which severely hampers the scale-up of mini-grids
  • Abandoned mini-grids and loss of investment upon the arrival of a reliable central grid
  • Business-as-usual of an intermittently reliable central grid, typically powered by fossil fuels or large hydro, in today’s age of climate crisis.

However, the reality is that all solutions for energy access are equally important to meet the growing energy needs of rural communities.

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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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CHRISTOPHER WESLEY AJAN
SARAWAK ALTERNATIVE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION SCHEME (SARES) 
SARAWAK ENERGY, MALAYSIA


Mr. Christopher Wesley Ajan joined in 2012 Sarawak Energy, the utility responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity for the state of Sarawak in Malaysia.  He currently serves as Manager in the Rural Electrification Department with focus on community based stand-alone solar power station.  He holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Universiti Teknologi, Malaysia and is a certified On-Grid and Off-Grid Photovoltaic Designer (SEDA-Malaysia). He presently leads the planning and implementation of the Sarawak Alternative Rural Electrification Scheme (SARES), a Sarawak State Government initiative to provide basic electricity supply to remote villages in Sarawak. To date, SARES has successfully completed 222 villages with total of 5,320 households. Awards received by SARES include: ASEAN Energy Awards 2019 – Off-grid Power Category; PowerGen Asia 2019 – Solar Power Project of the year; Alliance of Rural Electrification (ARE) Award 2018 – Winner RE project by Government in Africa, Asia and Latin America category.
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DR. VICTOR OSU
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION FUND
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AGENCY, NIGERIA


Dr. Osu is presently the Senior Adviser (SA) to the Executive Director (Rural Electrification Funds in the Rural Electrification Agency; towards enabling and fostering investments in Rural Electrification Planning and Development, linking private developers with access to finance from the government and private investors. He is  responsible towards the mobilization and operationalization of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF), with an objective of providing, promoting and supporting access to reliable electric power supply for rural economic development via the deployment of off-grid technologies (Mini-grids and SHS) within the context of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) delivery model. Victor is currently coordinating the implementation of over 10 mini-grids and 18,000 solar home systems installation for rural communities across the country with facility support from the rural electrification grant. He is currently administering the Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme (MAS) and Interconnected-Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme (I-MAS) programs, with 9.3 million Euros, funded by the European Union and the German government through Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeil (GIZ) to provide energy access to 32,000 Nigerians. A key focus within the project is the facilitation of productive use of energy through backward integration and Key Maker Model to spur rural economic development. He received a B.Sc. in Computer Economics from the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, an M.Sc. in Energy Management from the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen in Scotland and his Ph.D. in Sustainability Transition and Governance also from the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.​

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MODERATOR

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.​

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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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WATCH:  WEBINAR ON HYDRO MINI-GRID SUSTAINABILITY

9/20/2019

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Did you miss our third quarterly webinar, Mini-Grid Sustainability: Transitioning to Social Enterprise for Energy and Economic Development?  You can now watch it below!
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:
​
  • 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 our new HPNET initiative: Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological, and Economic Development (SEEED). SEEED 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.
​
Stay tuned for more information on SEEED, to be released in coming weeks!

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JOIN US:  SEPT. 17 WEBINAR ON MINI-GRID SUSTAINABILITY AND LOCAL SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

9/5/2019

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Join our webinar this month on mini-grid sustainability! 

MINI-GRID SUSTAINABILITY: 
​TRANSITIONING TO SOCIAL ENTERPRISE FOR ENERGY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
DATE:  TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019
TIME:  8 AM EDT / 2 PM CEST / 7 PM JAKARTA
REGISTER HERE
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.
However, there are exceptions where scaled implementation of hydro mini-grids has occurred without grants and subsidies, e.g. Afghanistan and Myanmar.  In these cases, projects have been driven by enterprise development that has enabled revenue-generation sufficient for micro hydro O/M, repair, and capital costs in some projects.  Because the project have included self-financing, ownership and management structures have varied from VECs to cooperative-owned, developer-owned, and hybrid community-private models.  A common factor among the different model has been the presence of an entrepreneurial individual or organization.  This entrepreneur is keenly able to identify, establish, and incentivize productive end use -- often agri-processing -- which generates local economic value-add and ultimately runs the micro hydro as a sustainable enterprise.
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Peanut oil press in one of the 14 villages powered by a 200kW mini-hydro project in Shan State, Myanmar. Photo Credit: D. Vaghela
Over the last year HPNET has facilitated a closer look to understand the factors for sustaining hydro mini-grids over the long-term.  In comparing the above two scenarios it has become evident that:
  • Grant and subsidy dependent projects often lead to projects with poor load factors and therefore inadequate revenue generation to enable long-term financial sustainability.
  • Ownership models of grant-dependent projects tend to be inclusive but typically are not conducive for enterprise development -- simply because user-based groups funded by grants were not required to perceive the need or knowhow to establish financial sustainability.
  • While self-financed enterprise-driven projects have strong financial viability, they require more time to develop inclusive affordability and equitable benefits among factions of the community.
  • To achieve both revenue-driven and equitable hydro mini-grids, a transition is needed toward local social enterprise, bringing economic value-add to the mini-grid, village enterprises, local social services, and households.
  • A high impact end use for value-add of electricity is local agriculture and agri-processing; however tapping it requires energy practitioners to work with agri-value chain practitioners.

To support local practitioners and micro hydro communities in this transition, HPNET has established the initiative Social Enterprise for Energy and Economic Development (SEEED).  One of its initial objectives is to identify and highlight the work of practitioners who are already paving the path toward long-lived mini-grids anchored in local social enterprise.  This webinar helps to do so.

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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.

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AYU ABDULLAH
ENERGY ACTION PARTNERS

Ms. Ayu Abdullah is co-founder and Regional Director for Southeast Asia at Energy Action Partners, an international nonprofit organization that focuses on capacity building and community development through collaborative and sustainable energy access programs. Ayu has almost a decade of experience working as a researcher and practitioner in sustainable energy and community development. She was previously at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi working on energy access, energy transition, sustainable energy policy and sustainable development. She has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University, and a Master’s in Engineering Systems and Management from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.​

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ISKANDAR KUNTOADJI
IBEKA - INSTITUT BISNIS DAN EKONOMI KERAKYATAN
(PEOPLE CENTERED BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC INSTITUTE)

Mr. Iskandar Kuntoadji is the founder of IBEKA, the People Centered Business and Economic Institute, based in Indonesia.  A unique pioneer in people-centered development and social entrepreneur, Iskandar founded IBEKA, the recipient of the prestigious Ashden and Ramon Magsaysay Awards for its community micro hydro work in Indonesia. He has led micro hydro missions in Philippines and Rwanda, with the efforts of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Now IBEKA is a social business entity with a strong engineering background, using a mixture of appropriate technology and sociology to empower communities and marginal groups in urban area, not only to increase the welfare but also drive the community to be self-reliant and reach the economic freedom stage. Various renewable energy interventions are used as an entry point to organize the local community and nurture further empowerment programs, such as village coop extension, farming extension, house hold enterprise extension, small manufacturer, and local workshop extension. Iskandar also focuses on bringing young urban-based engineers up-to-speed on how their skills can contribute to community development work.
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​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.

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WATCH: WEBINAR ON ENABLING LOCAL BANKS TO FINANCE HYDRO MINI-GRIDS

7/1/2019

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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!
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JOIN US: JUNE 28 WEBINAR ON MINI-GRID FINANCING

6/20/2019

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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.
​
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!
SPEAKERS
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DINESH DULAL
NMB Bank Ltd.
​
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. 

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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.

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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.

MODERATOR
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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.

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JOIN US - LAUNCH OF HPNET'S 2019 WEBINAR SERIES!

3/24/2019

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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:​

Stay tuned for the upcoming webinars here at this link!

WEBINAR 2, LATE JUNE

MINI-GRID FINANCING:  ENABLING THE ROLE OF LOCAL BANKS

WEBINAR 3, LATE SEPTEMBER
MINI-GRID SUSTAINABILITY: TRANSITIONING TO ENTERPRISE-BASED MICRO HYDROPOWER

WEBINAR 4,  EARLY DECEMBER
MINI-GRID PLANNING:  DATA MAPPING TOOLS FOR MULTI-ACTORS
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