Mini-Grid Webinar Series 2019

Mini-Grids Webinar Series 2019

The Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET) is a south-south, knowledge exchange and advocacy platform to advance small-scale (<1MW) hydropower. HPNET, in partnership with the WISIONS of Sustainability initiative and Energypedia, is conducting a 4-part, quarterly webinar series on mini-grids. Renewable energy mini-grids are a cost-effective and reliable solution for energy access. Within the technologies available for mini-grids, micro and mini hydropower (MHP) ₁ has added advantages. Its 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. read more

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 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. [1] In this context, micro hydropower refers to <100kW, and mini hydropower refers to 100 - 1000 kW (or 1MW).

1st Webinar

Mini-Grid Reliability: The Role of Training Centers for Micro/Mini Hydropower

Webinar Recording

Micro and mini hydropower (MHP) implementation involves technical expertise in hydrology, civil works, electro-mechanical, electrical, and electronics. Thanks to the pioneers of knowledge transfer for small-scale hydropower, e.g. the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), Skat Foundation, HydroNet, and others, comprehensive and frequent training was made available in the 1990s to practitioners in the global south. While such training is rare in the present-day scenario, the earlier efforts led to the creation of local experts who have since established local training centers. The Southeast Asia region particularly benefits from micro hydropower training centers. This webinar – the 1st in a series of four webinars – will feature the following training centers that provide local capacity building for the development, operation, and maintenance of community-based micro hydro projects in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

• Tonibung Center for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology (CREATE), Malaysia
• ASEAN Hydropower Competence Centre (HYCOM), Indonesia
• SIBAT Center for RE and Appropriate Technology (CREATech), Philippines

read more

We will hear from the founders or coordinators of the centers, presenting the motivation, concept, and evolution of the centers. They will explain the training facilities, types of training, the center’s sustainability, and the impact the centers have had on the reliability of micro hydropower projects.

Presentations will be followed by a Question/Answer session open to all participants.

Speakers

	Bikash Pandey is Director of Innovations for the Clean Energy, Environment and Water group at Winrock International. Pandey’s work experience encompasses 20 years in policy review, design and implementation of a range of clean/renewable energy projects in Africa, Latin America and Asia. A technical specialist in micro- and mini-hydropower systems, he has designed and implemented numerous community-based electrification, clean transportation projects, small-scale mini-grids, and home energy systems. He has extensive experience in developing small-scale renewable energy projects as activities under the Clean Development Mechanism. He also brings experience encouraging policy change within governments, bilateral and multilateral donors to support clean energy. He holds a master’s in energy and resources from the University of California at Berkeley, and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from MIT.
	Xavier Vallvé holds engineering and Master’s degrees from the University of Waterloo in Canada and is co-founder and director of the engineering and consultancy firm Trama TecnoAmbiental (TTA) in Barcelona, Spain. He has more than 25 years of experience in renewable energy rural electrification and distributed generation projects, autonomous as well as grid tied, RE hybrid technology for islands and isolated villages. This involves complementary interdisciplinary activities in economic, social and management aspects as well as engineering in RE generation and storage. He has been project director or lead consultant for private and government clients and also for projects by UNDP, UNOPS, UNIDO, UNEP, AECID, IDB, WB, EC, IRENA and other agencies. He is director and lecturer of the Master degree “Master en Ingeniería y Gestión de las Energías Renovables” at IL3 (University of Barcelona).
Additional Resource Person
	Pol Arranz-Piera has over 17 years experience in renewable energy engineering and consultancy projects. Since 2002 he has been working for Trama TecnoAmbiental, where he currently serves as Projects Director, dealing with projects in the field of rural electrification. He also collaborates as an Associate Researcher at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC). His academic work focuses on the development of distributed energy generation planning methodologies, supply chains and small scale bioenergy and solar systems. Mr Arranz-Piera has worked in off grid minigrids since 2004 in Perú, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Ivory Coast, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Morocco, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and is currently supervising the GEDAP pilot minigrid project in Ghana.

Moderator

Hedi Feibel is a Renewable Energy and Water Expert at the Swiss Resource Centre and Consultancies for Development (Skat).  She has worked for 25 years on assignments in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe with strong focus on mini and small hydropower. As an energy specialist and hydrologist, she is committed to knowledge transfer and participatory approaches to build up local know-how for the improvement of living conditions.  She holds a PhD from the  Department of Civil Engineering (Hydrology and Water Management) and Department of Political Economy, Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany.  She holds a MSc in Geography / Hydrology, from the Institute of Hydrology, University of Freiburg, Germany.

2nd Webinar: Grid-Interconnection

Webinar: Grid interconnection of micro/mini hydro mini-grids: What happens when the national grid arrives?

Webinar Recording

Grid Interconnection - Introduction  and summary	Grid Interconnection - Indonesia	Grid Interconnection - Sri Lanka

An increasing number of mini-grids built for rural communities are facing the “question” of what happens to the mini-grid when the national grid arrives. Whether this is a serious problem or rather a big opportunity for the community depends on a number of parameters. Micro and mini hydropower systems which in general provide inexpensive renewable energy 24-hours a day can benefit from the grid’s ability to absorb electricity even at times of the day (or night) when local loads are low.

This second webinar in the series will present examples from Indonesia and Sri Lanka where micro and mini hydropower (MHP) systems have been successfully connected to the national grid and even benefited the local community. Country experts will describe how micro and mini hydropower developed in their country and what happened when the grid arrived. They will also explain the current conditions for grid interconnection (e.g. feed-in tariff, technical requirements and economic aspects) as well as the consequential opportunities and challenges for MHP owners.

read more

Particularly in south and southeast Asian countries where national grids are extended not always in a “predictable” way, grid interconnection of MHP systems has emerged as an important topic, ruled by the following aspects:

• options for net metering, level of feed-in tariffs (FiT’s) and other policies and regulatory frameworks that support grid interconnection of decentralised renewables.
• clarity about ownership of the MHP system - especially for subsidised systems - and thus clarity about WHO benefits from the additional revenues.
• optional change of tariff systems for consumers on the (former) mini-grid.
• Possibility to still operate the mini-grid in an isolated mode in case of outages in the big grid.

Additional positive aspects can be: continuous stabilization of the national grid through decentralised energy production, increased domestic renewable energy production and lower carbon footprints.

Download the Presentations

Grid Interconnection -Introduction and Summary

Grid Interconnection-Indonesia_Chayun Budiono and Ardi Nugraha

Grid Interconnection - Sri Lanka_Kapila Subasinghe

Q&A During the Webinar

• List of all questions and answers presented during the webinar

Speakers

	Chayun Budiono obtained his master degree in Renewable Energy System with emphasis on Economics of Energy Supply System from the University of Oldenburg (Germany) in 1993. He received his bachelor degree in Physics in 1975 and obtained his engineering degree on Engineering Physics in 1978. He has been active in renewable energy development activities after his under-graduation in 1975 where he started his involvement with solar collectors, solar desalination, domestic solar water heating, and solar dryer. Since then he devoted his activities in renewable energy developments and energy conservation activities, particularly those related closely with rural, off-grid and sustainable development. He has also provided his expertise to a broad range of services in energy planning and auditing, cogeneration in industrial process, and renewable energy development for rural applications (including biomass, solar PV and thermal, and small hydro). Currently he provides lecture on related energy topics at the “Sepuluh Nopember” Institute of Technology (ITS) in Surabaya, Indonesia. He also poses as the Managing Director of PT Gerbang Multindo Nusantara (GMN), a privately owned Indonesian green energy system integrator.
	Kapila Subasinghe is the Vice President (Specialized Project Lending)/Head of Consulting at 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 extensive experience in project management and financing. At DFCC Bank he has worked in the Small and Medium Enterprise Department specializing in project appraisal, implementation and follow-up, including off-grid renewable energy projects. In 2002, he joined the Project Management Department which managed credit lines to Sri Lanka from multilateral agencies. He headed the Department from 2007 to 2010 as Vice President (Project Management) managing credit lines offered to the Government of Sri Lanka by The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank and KfW Germany. Thereafter, he served as Vice President (Corporate Banking) from 2010 to 2015 where the Department accounted for approximately 50% of DFCC Bank’s lending portfolio comprising of Sri Lankan corporate enterprises in diverse business sectors, including renewable energy. 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.
Additional Resource Person
	Ardi Nugraha is the Program Manager at Pt Entec Indonesia. His involvement in the mini hydro sector started in 1993 when he joined Yayasan Mandiri, a foundation which promotes appropriate technology and its utilisation for rural community development. Since then he has worked in various community and small business development projects. He has also been involved in designing and introducing institutional models for community based ownership, management and operation for two MHP projects funded by the Energising Development (MHPP and TSU) Program in Indonesia and also designed a management toolkit during community and management setup in the villages. In 2007 he worked on the small business development programme for the Berau regency, East Kalimantan. As a senior trainer for management and operation aspects of stand-alone MHP projects, he is experienced in designing and producing various media for community development and extension activities. He has a degree in socio-communication from the Padjadjaran University, Bandung.

Moderator

Hedi Feibel is a Renewable Energy and Water Expert at the Swiss Resource Centre and Consultancies for Development (Skat).  She has worked for 25 years on assignments in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe with strong focus on mini and small hydropower. As an energy specialist and hydrologist, she is committed to knowledge transfer and participatory approaches to build up local know-how for the improvement of living conditions.  She holds a PhD from the  Department of Civil Engineering (Hydrology and Water Management) and Department of Political Economy, Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany.  She holds a MSc in Geography / Hydrology, from the Institute of Hydrology, University of Freiburg, Germany.

3rd Webinar: Productive End Use

Webinar: Productive End Use of Mini-Grids using Micro/Mini Hydro – Three Examples of How to Make it Happen

Webinar Recording

Once implemented mini-grids need to be financially sustainable. Their operation and maintenance costs are recovered from tariffs, which depend on power consumption. Providing only lighting is a missed opportunity to bring optimal impact to economically marginalized rural communities. Micro/mini hydropower can generate many kWh's -- we need to learn how to make use of them! Productive End Use (PEU) of energy refers to activities that increase income or productivity in different sectors such as agriculture (e.g. irrigation, grain milling), manufacturing (e.g. carpentry, welding, and sewing), and the service sector (e.g. restaurants using electric lights, sound systems, refrigerators, mobile charging stations).
read more

This third webinar in the series will focus on PEU of mini/micro hydropower systems. It will examine:

• the social and technical pre-conditions, such as load management and technical reliability, and options such as mechanical drive for agricultural processing
• the increase of load factor through PEU and corresponding increase of the economic viability of the system
• three examples of systems promoting productive end use in different countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal. It will present pros and cons of electrifying "existing activities” versus “new businesses”.

Download the Presentations

Productive End Use - Example from Indonesia

Productive End Use - Example from Myanmar

Productive End Use - Example from Nepal

Productive End Use - Summary

Speakers

	Amalia Suryani has been working in energy sector since 2006. She started her career as an Analyst of Fuel Price and Subsidy in the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. In 2010 she shifted to a non-governmental organisation, Clinton Foundation, working with the Jakarta City Government to promote energy efficiency measures for buildings and streetlights. Starting 2011 she joined the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations, as Renewable Energy Advisor specifically dealing with rural electrification initiatives in Indonesia. Currently she is the Team Leader of Energising Development (EnDev) Indonesia and an active member in the network of micro-hydro power practitioners in South and Southeast Asia (HPNET).
	Bir Bahadur Ghale, the founder of Hydro Energy Concern Pvt. Ltd., has more than 25 years of experience in the micro/mini hydropower sector. He has also been awarded the Ashoka Fellowship (given to those who have excelled in Social Entrepreneurship). As a micro-hydro entrepreneur, he started his first Micro Hydropower (MHP) plant in Barpak (Gorkha) which generated 130kW of electricity. After his first project in Barpak, he started promoting awareness and social benefits of hydropower systems and so far, his contribution has electrified more than 4000 household. He also established the Hydro Energy Concern Pvt. Ltd. (HEC) in 1995 with an aim to contribute towards the private sector capacity in micro, mini and small hydropower projects. HEC believes that the economic and social development as well as the low environmental impact related to MHP represent the three inseparable pillars of sustainable development of Nepal, confirming that MHP can serve as an energy source for sustainable development.
	Dipti Vaghela holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Environment Studies from San Jose State University.  Inspired by her family's roots in rural India, Dipti focuses on sustainability of decentralized renewable energy solutions for rural electrification.  Since 2006 her parallel roles as researcher, practitioner, and facilitator have helped to synergize communities, local entrepreneurs, field-based NGOs, policy makers, and funding agencies in implementing bottom up, learning-process approaches to community-based energy initiatives in rural south and southeast Asia.  In 2012 she co-founded the Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET), a knowledge exchange platform for local practitioners to advance policy, technology, and socio-environmental aspects of micro/mini hydropower.  In 2014 and 2015, she assisted the Renewable Energy Association of Myanmar (REAM) to conduct practice-to-policy exchanges that promote scaled efforts for renewable energy mini-grids in Myanmar.  Dipti is a 2016 Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellow placed in Myanmar to support mini-grids integration in the National Electrification Plan.
Additional Resource
150px	Practical Action South Asia Regional Office Vishwa Bhushan Amatya, Pooja Sharma, Min Bikram Malla, and Manjari Shrestha at Practical Action South Asia Regional Office lead the coordination of the Hydro Empowerment Network's practice-to-policy activities to advance productive end use (PEU). Their Participatory Market System Development (PMSD) has inspired HPNET members to continue working with community actors and decision-makers on improved process for PEU, through HPNET's Working Group on PEU.  In 2015-16, the team coordinatedcollaborative action research on PEU 2015-16, in partnership withEnergising Development (EnDev) Indonesia, resulting in HPNET's PEU portal.  With more than 20 years of PEU experience, Practical Action South Asia Regional Office is now focussing more on integration of PEU and social uses from the development phase of Micro Hydropower Systems.

Moderator

Hedi Feibel is a Renewable Energy and Water Expert at the Swiss Resource Centre and Consultancies for Development (Skat).  She has worked for 25 years on assignments in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe with strong focus on mini and small hydropower. As an energy specialist and hydrologist, she is committed to knowledge transfer and participatory approaches to build up local know-how for the improvement of living conditions.  She holds a PhD from the  Department of Civil Engineering (Hydrology and Water Management) and Department of Political Economy, Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany.  She holds a MSc in Geography / Hydrology, from the Institute of Hydrology, University of Freiburg, Germany.

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Organizers

	Energypedia UG is a non-profit organization that runs and maintains the wiki-based platform, www.energypedia.info. Energypedia.info is an online platform for collaborative knowledge exchange on renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy access in the context of development cooperation.
	The Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET) is a knowledge exchange and advocacy platform for micro/mini hydro practitioners in south and southeast Asia, focusing on policy, technology, and socio-environment solutions for long-term sustainability. Core support for HPNET comes from the WISIONS initiative at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.
	Skat Foundation was established by Skat Consulting in 2002 to foster the exchange of knowledge and experience in development cooperation through generating, sharing and transferring knowledge about what works and how in selected thematic areas. Skat Foundation has also funded this webinar series.