Energy Access in Remote Areas
Are Micro & Pico Grids Workable ?
Presented By:
Ashok Madhukar & Shweta Agarwal
Afro-Asian Development Consortium
New Delhi
August 7, 2014
Micro & Pico Energy Grids
 Remote areas either do not have access to energy or totally
unreliable supply systems
 Poor quality of life due to lack of energy infrastructure and
resultant opportunities for income generation / livelihood
Workable?
 Micro and Pico grids are the only workable option for remote
areas for generation and distribution of energy and
environmental management
 We need to understand the system constraints of all the
stakeholders and their removal/reduction
 Design Structural and Operational Sustainability
Afrodev
Engineering Sustainability
Need: Demand Driven
Ownership & Participation
SUSTAINABILITY
Resources
Program/ Project
HR & Funds
Design & Delivery
Afrodev
Lessons Learnt :Remote Area
 Need Identification
 Few people want to go there : organizations ability to
reach out is low
 Funding for need assessment and appropriate project
design
 Feasibility study costs more than the project- strange but
true
 Delivery Capacity
 This situation encourages local cartels who deliver:
Substandard work, charge multiple times, have little or no
capacity for O&M support
 Urgent need to build the last mile local delivery capacity
Afrodev
Lessons Learnt :Remote Area
contd…
Higher Cost of Acquisition leads to;
 higher cost recovery
 ability to pay drops
Lessons Learnt :
1. Build Core Teams/ Contractors locally for the design,
development, implementation , operation &
maintenance and monitoring of the project.
2. Funding for the needs identification, project design and
development with the community acceptance and
participation: generally about 10% of the project
Afrodev
Empowerment
RE: Dual Contribution
Renewable Energy
Dual Contribution
SOCIAL
INFRASTRUCTURE
LIVELIHOODS
Income Generation
Activities
Power & Fuel
OUTCOME
Improved Quality of Life
AVAILABILITY
ACCESS
Sustained
Ability to Pay
Afrodev
Program / Project Design
Structural Design is critical for Operational Success
 Operational
 Structural
 Stakeholders Commitments
 O&M Local Capacity
 Community Ownership
 Local Participation
 360 Capacity Building
 Cost Recovery
 Understanding
 Ability
 Each link is critical
 Willingness
 Start Up Support
 HR
 Funds
Afrodev
Local Communities
 Identification of needs / opportunities:
 Acceptance and help of the local community for the
surveys and information collection
 Willingness of the Community:
 Ownership: Accept the project
 Participate in the project development
 O & M local entrepreneurs and build capacity
 Share in the cost of services used
“Partners in Progress” approach needed with the
community rather than “Beneficiaries”
Afrodev
Missing Link: Intermediaries

Role of NGOs
 Community mobilization and capacity building
 Primary need assessment
 Implementation support
 Operation and Management
 Cost recovery for services

Local Delivery Mechanism
 Agencies for design and development of the projects
 Implementation
 O& M handholding
 Local Entrepreneurs and operators training

Local Monitoring –Core Teams
 Capacity Building
 Benchmarks
 Trends
 Course Correction and sustainability
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Delivery Mechanisms
 Who will implement? : Intermediaries
 NGOs- community interface
 Local Contractors- build and maintain
 Capacity Building:
 Is there capacity to implement
 Develop and Design the local project
 Express the need and seek agencies
 Standardization & Replication:
 Cost of design on case to case basis is more than the value
of the intervention itself
 Time Taken:
 Uncertainty is the greatest barrier
 Staying power: mental and financial
Who is investing in the delivery mechanism creation and its
capacity building ???...
Afrodev
The Realty Check
 Reality is that there is more money but less projects and even
less understanding of the project implementation capabilities
of the organization and its intermediaries
 Organizations have the funds but do not have projects to
fund in line with their mandates
 LAD: Demand Driven/ Supply Side interventions:
 Assisted demand driven is the answer
 Inventory of local needs / projects
 Adopt a Village- best holistic approach and replicable
Afrodev
PROJECTS : Key Actions
 Simplification
 Standardization
 Replication
Afrodev
CSR - The Road Ahead
 Inventory of projects that can be funded by CSR
 Compatibility Matrix: geographies and domains/sectors
 Capacity Building of Organizations for CSR:
 Funding Projects
 Program Design
 CSR Funding Process:
 Awareness
 Standardization
 Transparency
 CSR Attitude:
 CSR to pro-actively seek projects
 Not behave as another agency doling out funds to
beneficiaries
Afrodev
Strategic Approach: LAD
Mawlyngbna, Meghalaya
 Village Profile :
 Altitude : 1200 m
 Precipitation of 8000-10000 mm
 Monsoon Period-6 months
 Population
< 2000 ( 90%
engaged in farming )
 Households
350 estimated
 Cluster of:
 4 villages total
 750-800 households
 3000+ population
 Provide Energy for:
 basic primary processing for
agriculture produce
 community buildings and street
lighting and communication
Afrodev
Strategic Approach: LAD
Mawlyngbna, Meghalaya
Economic Activity:
Pico Energy Interventions:
The interventions are
focused on value addition
to the local produce for
higher economic activity
and jobs in the village area
and include:
1.
Pico Hydel Power 10Kw
2.
Bio Mass Gassifier 10 kw
3.
Heat Recovery for drying
agri-produce
4.
Solar PV system - 5 Kw
5.
Bio Gas for Heat Energy
 Warehousing
 Drying, Cleaning &
Grading
 Animal Feed
 Waste Management
Organic manure
 Potable Water
Note: Combination supports the seasonal and day / night needs of the community
Afrodev
Strategic Approach: LAD
Mawlyngbna, Meghalaya
 Pico-Hydro Power Plant 10 KW
 Land contributed by the community
 Support the need for power primarily
during monsoon period and
supplement the existing supply which is
not reliable and intermittent
 Provide convenience for street lights
and lighting of community building
Impact
Economic - higher revenue realisation
from agriculture produce
Social - Improved quality of life , self
reliance & equitable distribution
Sustainability
Village ownership and participation is
integral to this community as
demonstrated in other initiatives
Afrodev
“Let us continue the journey
towards
Sustainability and Inclusive Growth”
Afrodev