Social Enterprise for Optimal Outcomes

Drawing on 40+ years of experiential hindsight from practitioners in the Asia Pacific, HPNET has identified a linkage between enterprise-based approaches and hydro mini-grid sustainability.  Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological and Economic Development (SEEED) is HPNET’s approach for community-scale hydro implementation that integrates key factors for optimizing sustainability and community empowerment beyond electricity – centering local social enterprise in the pathway to mini-grid sustainability.  

Supported by Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihood (RERL) in Nepal, the Tara Khola Mini Hydro Project provides an example of an enterprise-based approach that has enabled a financially viable energy system, unlocking benefits for local livelihoods, economic development, grid interconnection, and more. 

Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihood (RERL)

RERL is a joint project of Government of Nepal (GoN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project has been operational since 2011 after the closure of Rural Energy Development Programme (REDP) with the main objective of supporting AEPC to scaleup RE project implementation. Since 2019, RERL has also been providing TA support to AEPC to implement South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) to install 4.3MW mini hydropower projects and 0.5MW solar/solar wind hybrid mini grids in off-grid areas of Nepal. Since March 2022, RERL is also implementing Japan-UNDP Support for Transition Effort to Decarbonization (JUSTED).  

The following case study on the Tara Khola Mini Hydro project is posted with permission from RERL's Quarterly Update July - Sept. 2022.​

The 380kW Tara Khola Mini Hydropower Project (TKMHP) was completed in October 2019
and provides quality electricity services to 1800 households (HHs) and over 50 productive
energy uses (PEU) . The project was developed with subsidy from Alternative Energy
Promotion Center (AEPC) and community equity and loan and technical support of
Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihood (RERL). The project was initially promoted by a Users’
Group with 9 executive members who were responsible for equity collection, coordination
with the contractor and concerned stakeholders for construction of the project. However, in spite
of endless efforts of the executive members, they were not able to collect the required equity
amount and take out a loan to achieve financial closure. The beneficiaries then decided to develop the project through a public limited company with all of them as shareholders and registered Tara Khola Jalbidyut Company Limited for construction and operation and management. The company has authorized capital of NPR 100 Million and paid up capital of NPR 3 Million.

​After the company took over the operations, the local people’s perception towards their project completely changed as the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Directors, staff and shareholders were clearly defined, all financial transactions were well recorded and could be observed by the ordinary shareholders. As a result, the company was able to collect equity of NPR 6 million from 1700 shareholders and a loan of NPR 14,853,822 from CYC and Jana Ekata Multipurpose Cooperative Limited, Baglung.

The turbine has now been built and installed at a pilot site in the Taplejung District of Eastern Nepal.  The system is rated at 32 kW and is now running and awaiting testing by the KU Turbine Testing Lab.  Site-based testing equipment has been procured, including an ultrasonic flow meter and digital pressure transducer, which will be used for testing efficiency. 
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Course 2: Climate Resilient Solutions to Hydro Mini-Grids 

Sustainable watersheds are the foundational element of SEEED because hydro mini-grid sustainability relies on healthy forested watersheds; in turn, hydro mini-grids incentivize watershed restoration and stewardship.  In the context of the global climate crisis, ecosystem health is all the more important for ensuring climate resilient hydro mini-grids and communities.  

With this in mind, the second SEEED E-course focused on solutions for enabling climate resilient hydro mini-grids.  The course oriented participants to the important role of traditional ecological knowledge and environmental governance systems of Indigenous and local communities.  It then introduced the key phases of watershed management for hydro mini-grids and practical examples of watershed treatment, such as reforestation, agriculture-related solutions, and built structures for managing flooding and erosion. 

The course modules included:

• Orientation to Community-Scale Hydropower
• Climate Resilient Watersheds of Hydro Mini-Grids
• Phases of Watershed Management for Hydro Mini-Grids
• Watershed Treatment for Hydro Mini-Grids

​To kick off the course, we were privileged to have Hon. Adrian Banie Lasimbang join us as a speaker, who is an Advisor for TONIBUNG and JOAS and serves on the boards of the Right Energy Partnership (REP) and HPNET.  Watch the recording for insights on the role of Indigenous communities in the water-energy-food-forests-livelihoods nexus.
 

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our SEEED E-Learning platform!  The all-new platform is designed to facilitate online learning and capacity building on key topics for hydro mini-grid sustainability and social-ecological impact.  The E-Learning platform provides an interactive, user-friendly interface that hosts our SEEED E-Learning series, which we launched earlier this year with support from Skat Foundation, DGRV, GIZ, and WISIONS.  

The SEEED Approach
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Our E-Learning initiative is embedded in the SEEED Accelerator.  Collating 40-years of experiential hindsight in the Asia Pacific, HPNET established the Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological and Economic Development (SEEED) approach for community-scale hydro implementation.  Ultimately, SEEED aims to facilitate sustainable hydro mini-grids that support community empowerment beyond electricity generation.

​The SEEED approach integrates key factors for optimizing hydro mini-grid sustainability, local socio-economic benefits, and climate resilience.  The core elements of SEEED are shown below.  The foundational elements of sustainable watersheds and technical reliability focus on functionality.  Once they are established and the system is functioning consistently, productive end use and inclusive enterprise aspects can be achieved, bringing value-add to local livelihoods.  

SEEED Accelerator

The approach is embedded into an accelerator program aimed to unlock the full potential of hydro mini-grid practitioners and communities.  The Accelerator incorporates knowledge exchange and strategic advocacy to advance context-responsive solutions in line with proven approaches.  The SEEED Accelerator utilizes a 4-step strategy to generate impact from knowledge exchange and advocacy activities, as shown below. 

SEEED E-Learning Series

The SEEED E-Learning platform is designed to support practitioners to learn about the core elements of SEEED, through self-paced, interactive learning.  So far, the platform has hosted three E-courses: 

1. Fundamentals of Community-Scale Hydro Mini-Grids
2. Climate Resilient Solutions to Hydro Mini-Grids
3. Agroecological Benefits of Hydro Mini-Grids

The independent learning portion of each course consisted of a series of modules designed around video-based learning, supplementary reading and self-assessment quizzes.  Participants also engaged in live sessions to connect with experts and peers on the topics addressed in the modules.  To read more about the above courses, click here.   
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We look forward to hosting more E-Learning opportunities soon, including the 5-day course, Local Manufacturing of Turgo Turbines, in June, 2022.

To stay up to date on SEEED E-Learning opportunities, sign up for our newsletter.

We recently launched the SEEED Accelerator to unlock the full potential of hydro mini-grid practitioners and communities.  The knowledge exchange aspect of the Accelerator incorporates E-Learning and impact-driven, customized capacity building to facilitate hydro mini-grid sustainability and optimal socio-economic benefits.  To this end, we launched the SEEED E-Learning series with support from Skat Foundation, DGRV, GIZ, and WISIONS.  So far we’ve hosted three virtual courses (with more to come) focused on community hydro fundamentals, climate resilient solutions, and agroecological benefits.  In conjunction with the virtual E-Learning courses, iwe recently supported local experts to conduct a field-based workshop in Sitio Gawaan Proper, Kalinga Province, Philippines.  ​

Next Steps

Next steps include working with community leaders and appropriate local and regional experts to facilitate steps towards resolving challenges expressed by workshop participants, including:

• Continue to unite against the development of mega dams repeatedly proposed to be built on indigneous territory but benefitting external populations
• Demonstrate the viability of Indigenous-governed micro hydro against the sporadic and expensive central grid
• Alleviate common pitfalls of community-scale hydropower by integrating methods for greater climate resilience and agroecological benefits.

​More broadly, the successful workshop in Kalinga has led us to reflect on possibilities for future HPNET workshops.  While E-Learning has enabled us to reach practitioners in over 40 countries this year, overcoming pandemic-related challenges, we were thrilled to also resume support for field-based capacity building with the workshop in Kalinga Province.  We see much potential for further hybrid formats going forward. 

Learn More

To learn more about community hydro in Kalinga, check out StreamSide Chats Edition 4, in which we take a virtual tour of the Balbalasang micro hydro project and discuss the Indigenous governance systems that support its success. 

You can also check out the SEEED E-Learning platform to explore course offerings and read more about the SEEED Approach.

​From March 21-25, 2022, we are pleased to offer a 5-day course on climate resilient solutions to hydro mini-grids. Sign up to learn how watershed management can build resilience to climate change and sustainable energy access in rural communities.

Key topics include:

• Watersheds, climate adaptation and the water-energy-food nexus
• Governance and environmental stewardship in Indigenous and local communities
• Watershed management from baseline assessment to maintenance and monitoring
• How to integrate watershed management with hydro mini-grid planning and implementation

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Estimated time commitment:

• March 21 Kickoff Session: 1.5 hour (Optional)
• March 25 Live Q&A and peer-to-peer dialogue: 1.5 hour (Optional)  
• Self-work: 5-7 hours (Required)

Have you wondered what hydro mini-grids are, and how they differ from other renewables?  
Have you come across a stream and asked how much electricity it could produce?  
Do you know the range of ways mini-grid communities can co-create social enterprises?   
Are you familiar with community hydro and would like a refresher on the fundamentals?   

If so, consider taking advantage of an upcoming virtual training opportunity on the fundamentals of community-scale (<1 MW) hydro implementation! ​

What is the SEEED Accelerator?

Building on 40-years of experiential hindsight on hydro mini-grid sustainability and impact, HPNET developed an initiative called Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological and Economic Development (SEEED). Earlier this year, we launched the SEEED Accelerator to support practitioners and communities to customize proven sustainability mechanisms to local contexts, enabling climate resilience and socio-economic co-benefits through community-scale hydro. 

The first cohort of the SEEED Accelerator kicked off in August through a partnership with International Rivers.  We are excited to continue advancing the SEEED Accelerator in 2022 with support from Skat Foundation, beginning with the Fundamentals of Community Hydro training. 

What topics will the training cover?

​The Fundamentals of Community-Scale Hydro Mini-Grids training will provide participants with a solid introduction, which can also be useful as a refresher course, on the foundational elements of sustainable community-scale hydropower implementation.  While technical in focus, the training emphasizes climate resilience and other socio-environmental co-benefits.  An engineering or science background can be beneficial but not required.  The modules are as follows:

• Orientation to Hydro Mini-Grids
• Social Enterprise Models for Mini-Grids
• Demand Assessment
• Water Resource Assessment
• Terrain Assessment
• Power Output Design

What time commitment is required?

The training is flexible in design to accommodate your busy schedule.  Participants are encouraged to attend a live kick-off session on February 7, as well as weekly live sessions for Q&A and discussion for each module of the 6-week program.  In between the live sessions participants will be expected to do self-paced learning using the SEEED learning management system. Although optional, the live synchronous sessions will provide a valuable opportunity to connect with experts and peers. They will be planned for morning Sub-Saharan Africa and afternoon/evening Asia Pacific time zones.
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The time commitment for each of the 6 training modules is estimated as follows:

• Kickoff session: 1 hour (Optional)
• Live Q&A and peer-to-peer dialogue: 1 to 2 hours./week (Optional)  
• Self-work: 1 to 2 hours/week (Required)

Registration

Registration is now open! CLICK HERE TO REGISTER no later than February 1, 2021.  All interested individuals are welcome to apply to join the training.  

Other opportunities to look out for

Stay tuned for additional training opportunities coming up in 2022!  We will soon announce registration for two subsequent trainings, taking place in March:

Climate Resilient Solutions to Hydro Mini-Grids: March 21 - 25
We are excited to conduct a 4-day training on leveraging watershed management and Indigenous governance values and ecological knowledge to enable climate resilience of community hydro systems. 

Agroecological Benefits of Hydro Mini-grids: March 28 - 31
How can community hydro electricity and watersheds support sustainable food production?  Learn how and exchange ideas in this 5-day training on agroecological benefits of hydro mini-grids.

​Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the know and feel free to direct any questions to  secretariat@hpnet.org.

The transition to successful social enterprise requires a number of core elements (as shown below).  The foundational elements focus on functionality, namely quality of technical design and installation, as well as the condition of the catchment area that dictates the seasonal and long-term consistency of the water flow.  These have been discussed in previous posts, discussing the need for technical standards and watershed strengthening.
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This quarter we spotlight the SEEED elements that can be achieved once reliability is established,  namely productive end use and inclusive enterprise aspects that bring value-add to local livelihoods.   

We will soon collaborate with partners to further analyze best practices within each of these sub-elements. The following examples of enterprise-based hydro mini-grids continue to inspire and refine our approach to the SEEED initiative, in terms of management, ownership, productive end use, and livelihoods enhancement aspects.

Asia Pacific 

• Winrock Nepal economically revived five micro hydro projects in Nepal, using a peer-to-peer approach, supported by WISIONS.  Read more here.
• The association Hydropower for Community Empowerment in Myanmar (HyCEM) is transitioning to cooperative-based models for hydro mini-grids.  Read more here.
• Hydropower Concern Ltd., under the leadership of Bir Bahadur Ghale in Nepal, uses a developer-owned approach that has led to high productive end use and economic resilience.  Read more here.
• The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) has established community-owned mini-hydropower utilities that are electrifying entire valleys, while nurturing women-led enterprise.  Read more here.

Africa 

• Energising Development (EnDev) Ethiopia is initiating a process to revive micro hydro projects, in order to instill optimization in end use and long-term sustainability using an enterprise-based approach. ​ Read more here.
• ​The Association des Ingénieurs pour le Développement des Energies Renouvelables (AIDER) installs and operates micro hydro systems in Madagascar.  Read more here. 

Latin America 

• Association of Rural Development Workers—Benjamin Linder (ATDER-BL) has interconnected multiple hydro mini-grids with each other, providing electricity to a sub-region in northern Nicaragua.  Read more here.

As a part of our knowledge exchange process (below), we continue to look for additional examples for peer-to-peer exchange, in order to collectively advance community-scale hydropower.  If you would like to share about your approach to sustainable hydro mini-grids, please let us know here!

The initial phase of the effort involved field visits to understand the social, technical, and management issues faced by each of the projects.  The next phase, as detailed in the released ToR, focuses on structured data collection to assess reviving and optimizing the project focusing on the following assessments for each project.
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​Technical assessment.  The condition, functionality, operation records, safety, flow data, and electricity generation, units sold, and costs will be assessed, along with assessment of whether extending the distribution to nearby villages is feasible.

Management assessment.  The details of the MHP management roles and responsibilities; tariff collection; business model strengths and weaknesses; disputes; and the management aspects of the cooperative.

Productive end use assessment. Skillset for enterprise management, productive end use opportunities, regional best practices, catalog of end uses optimal for each cooperative, business plan for increasing load factors and revenue generation, appropriate micro finance institutions, and opportunities for scale up.

Social assessment.  Impact of electricity access on gender aspects, equitable decision making, and social service institutions.
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EnDev Ethiopia’s initiative to rehabilitate and optimize micro hydro projects for economical and technical resilience are commendable and will lead to in-depth best practices for new project implementation and rehabilitating existing mini-grids.  We look forward to following up with an update on the outcomes!

​​Watersheds and Climate Resilience

​There are a number of accounts of negative impacts of climate change in rural communities where our members work. Many of the communities have known the importance of healthy watersheds, as they are the source of drinking and irrigation water, as well as timber and non-timber products that provide food and livelihood. 
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Those communities have traditional rules to sustainably manage their natural resources. HPNET members who work on local community-based hydropower also understand that building resilient watersheds is key for the communities to sustain and regulate stream flow, secure clean drinking and sanitation water, as well as forest resources that could support sustainable rural development.  Gram Vikas’ work in Odisha, India is one such example.

Watersheds and Micro Hydro
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In addition, healthy watersheds are the foundation to sustainable community-based hydropower that is also highly beneficial socio-economically.  

Hydropower requires a consistent water supply to generate electricity year-round. Seasonal fluctuations in stream-flow, as well as topography and changes in forest cover all impact a system’s energy output, making some systems more vulnerable. When the forest above hydropower intake is logged, the retention capacity of the soil and stream-flow is altered.  This could result in greater variability between wet and dry season flow rates, and increase the risk of flood and landslides that could damage hydropower structures.  Increased siltation can also clog intakes and wear down turbine runners, incurring additional maintenance costs.
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Maintaining and establishing mature forest cover alleviates the impacts of seasonal variability in flow, reduces landslide risks, and can help build resilience against the impacts of climate change. The potential for the communities to access stable sources of electricity provides communities with hydropower an added incentive to protect their watersheds.  Community-scale hydropower reinforces environmental traditions by incentivizing watershed strengthening, which, in turn, enables reliable and sustainable power supply. (Examples of this can be found in our feature series, Earth Voices)

Guest blog written by HPNET member Joe Butchers, a PhD Researcher at the University of Bristol, Electrical Energy Management Group.

Nagaland is one of the "seven sisters of India," the seven northeastern states of India, endowed with a multitude of indigenous communities, rich biodiversity and extensive hilly forests.

Earlier this month in Nagaland with support from WISIONS, HPNET organized a knowledge exchange visit for Ramasubramanian Vaidhyanathan, the Board of Representative Member for India also known as "Rams", to share his micro hydro expertise with practitioners at Nagaland Empowerment of People through Energy Development (NEPeD).

NEPeD has a well established approach and direction to do sustainable micro hydro projects. Moreover, due to NEPeD's work doing in-house manufacturing at their CERES facility, it is well positioned to support local practitioners and advance the sector throughout Northeast India. This visit aimed to support NEPeD in building on its considerable achievements

Through decades of work on micro hydropower initiatives in Eastern Ghats of India and elsewhere globally, Rams has earned the title of "micro hydro guru" within the network. He supports training, design and manufacturing of Pelton, crossflow, and pump-as-turbines, along with system-wide implementation aspects.

​The exchange visit endeavoured to synergize NEPeD's committed efforts to Rams' several decades of expertise, in order to advance sustainable micro hydro sector in northeast India. More specifically, the purpose of the visit was to:
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• Assess casting facilities and raw material availability;
• Assess the fabrication workshop and team at Centre for Excellence for Renewable Energy Studies (CERES);
• Assess what other turbines could be fabricated with the present infrastructure
• Visit one or two sites to assess the implementation issues, ownership model, revenue generation, etc.

Rams gave a positive assessment of the casting facilities and availability of raw material. He has reported back that the CERES has a well equipped fabrication workshop with CNC operated lathe and milling machines, an arc welding machine, angle grinder and cutting machine. Casting fabrication is outsourced to the neighbouring institution, the Nagaland Tool and Training Centre. The aluminum castings for the runner buckets and the PMG cores are sourced from Guwahati foundries.

As for his assessment of the CERES fabrication workshop and team, Rams shared that the workshop is well positioned to fabricate turbines of up to 50 kW, and that the team is highly motivated and experienced in the installation of turbines. Moreover, in addition to the fabrication centre, there is a test rig available to test turbines, ram pumps and electric load controllers (ELCs). 

Rams found that with the existing infrastructure, Pelton turbines and cross-flow turbines can easily be fabricated at CERES up to a capacity of 50 kW. He advised that larger units can be taken up once the team gets hands-on experience on the 50 kW scale.

In addition, communities supported by NEPeD do horticulture that can have significantly greater local economic benefits with electricity-based processing.  Enabling this requires the NEPeD pico hydro systems to be upgraded to micro hydro capacities that can generate enough electricity for horticulture livelihoods. HPNET's facilitation of multi-stakeholders to move forward in this direction is a part of our initiative Social Enterprise for Energy, Ecological and Economic Development (SEEED).

Based on the outcomes of the visit, we foresee NEPeD upscaling its capacities as well as playing an important role as a regional practitioner advancing the micro hydro sector in northeast India.

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 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.
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Stay tuned for more information on SEEED, to be released in coming weeks!