SUMMARY REPORT
SUMMARY REPORT
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Summary Report of the
Regional Meeting on Sustainable Energy
for Asia-Pacific Least Developed Countries
Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 3
Opening Session .................................................................................................................. 4
Session 1 - Setting the scene - Sustainable energy investment plans in national
development strategies ...................................................................................................... 7
Session 2 – Financing initiatives and business plans that work .......................................... 9
Business to Business dialogue .......................................................................................... 11
Session 3 – Benefitting from global and regional energy initiatives ................................ 12
Session 4 – Project preparation skills ............................................................................... 14
Closing session .................................................................................................................. 17
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Introduction
The Regional Meeting on Sustainable Energy for
Asia-Pacific Least Developed Countries was
organized jointly by the Office of the High
Representative for Least Developed Countries,
Landlocked Developing Countries and Small
Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) and the
Government of Nepal, with support from UNDP
Country Office in Nepal. The meeting was held
in Kathmandu, Nepal from 22 to 23 of March
2017. The meeting convened approximately 140
participants including senior officials and energy
experts from the Asia-Pacific least developed
countries, UN system, regional organisations,
development banks, development partners, and
selected private sector partners from both the
energy and investment sector, as well as
relevant foundations and civil society
representatives.
Aiming to accelerate the implementation of the
Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least
Developed Countries, especially in reaching the
target on energy, while building synergies with
Sustainable Development Goal 7, the Regional
Meeting on Sustainable Energy convened LDC
senior officials and energy experts to build
national leadership in the energy sector and
create stronger multi-stakeholder partnerships
to improve access to finance. During the
meeting, financing models and initiatives that
have worked and can accelerate the energy
transition in LDCs were presented. Many lessons
learnt and best practices were shared in this
regard. Also, experiences were shared on
preparing investment prospectuses and how to
enhance project development capacities in
LDCs.
The Regional Meeting provided an opportunity
to share experiences and best practices with
representatives from countries facing similar
development challenges. Therefore, the
substantive sessions discussed and offered
practical, workable solutions on financing
sustainable energy in the least developed
countries. These solutions were discussed in the
regional context to further advance the creation
of an enabling environment for sustainable
energy through cross-sectorial policy
frameworks and end-to-end business models.
This report summarizes the discussions that
took place over the two-day meeting. Detailed
presentations made during the meeting can be
accessed at http://unohrlls.org/event/regional-
meeting-asia-pacific-ldcs-sustainable-energy/.
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Opening Session
The opening session was chaired by Hon’ble Dr.
Min Bahadur Shrestha, Vice-Chairman, National
Planning Commission, Government of Nepal and
the opening remarks were provided by:
H.E. Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi, Foreign
Secretary of Nepal
Hon’ble Mr. Janardan Sharma, Minister of
Energy, Government of Nepal
Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya, Under-
Secretary-General and High Representative,
UN-OHRLLS
Ms. Caitlin Wiesen-Antin, Chief, Regional
Policy and Programme, UNDP Regional Hub
Mr. K.M. Abdus Salam, Additional Secretary,
Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral
Resources, Bangladesh, Representative of
the Chair of the LDC group
H.E. Mrs. Rensje Teerink, Ambassador,
European Union
H.E. Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi, Foreign Secretary
of Nepal, expressed his appreciation to the UN-
OHRLLS for close collaboration in co-hosting this
meeting with the Government of Nepal, and
welcomed all the delegates and representatives
to Kathmandu.
He underlined that the acute energy gap
remains a constraint for the development in
LDCs. He further stressed that LDCs lack
sufficient finance and appropriate technology to
accelerate the pace of energy development in a
required speed, quality and quantity. Enhanced
solidarity, cooperation and partnership between
the LDCs and development partners, is essential
to fill the resources and technology gap in
attaining the goals.
Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya, High
Representative, OHRLLS, expressed
appreciation to the Government and people of
Nepal for hosting the Regional Meeting and
welcomed all senior officials from Asia-Pacific
LDCs, development partners, representatives of
the private sector and civil society, international
organisations and development banks to the
meeting.
Mr. Acharya underlined that energy is included
in the eight priority areas for action in the
Istanbul Programme of Action and the far-
reaching impacts of energy poverty at all levels
of the societies hinder development across
sectors. Yet, the majority of the Asia-Pacific
LDCs are endowed with vast reserves of
renewable energy resources and present a great
potential for rapid energy transition. This,
together with new technologies, offer many
new solutions for gaining energy access.
However, access to finance remains a key
challenge for LDCs. Energy investment plans can
play a critical role in paving the way forward
through aiming at increasing the viability of
energy investments, lowering the associated
risks and making the initiatives more
“bankable.” This will also contribute to
attracting finance from various sources: private
and public, domestic and international.
Ms. Caitlin Wiesen-Antin, Chief, Regional Policy
and Programme, UNDP, highlighted the key
energy related challenges of LDCs and that in
terms of energy poverty, LDCs in Asia-Pacific are
disproportionately impacted. She also
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highlighted the needs for political commitment
and action for energy access at both global and
national levels, and how the UN and UNDP are
supporting these efforts.
She noted that currently, Asia-Pacific cities
generate over 80 per cent of the region’s GDP,
70-80 per cent of its energy, and create over 75
per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions.
Consumption and production patterns are
becoming increasingly unsustainable, with Asia-
Pacific estimated to represent 63 per cent of
global natural resource use. She also stated that
it is critical to involve the private sector more
actively to invest in profitable projects with
social and environmental impact through a
mixture of loans and equity and noted that
UNDP has been working on a platform that
brings together investors and successful SMEs
that are ready for scaling-up their work to make
a positive social and environmental contribution
on the ground.
Ms. Wiesen-Antin also discussed graduation
from the LDC category. Energy access is a key
for developing a strong private sector, creating
more and better jobs and sustaining economic
growth, and is therefore closely linked to the
graduation efforts of LDCs. She underlined that
graduation is an important step for these
countries’ development process and efforts to
graduate will create better lives for people
through various interventions such as improving
basic services like healthcare and education for
all.
Mrs. Rensje Teerink, Ambassador, European
Union, underlined that the European Union has
been at the forefront of international efforts to
reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses by
reducing fossil fuel energy consumption through
the adoption and promotion of renewable
energy technologies. In 2015, the European
Union increased its climate finance contribution
by more than 20 per cent.
She also mentioned that the EU has established
a number of thematic instruments to tackle
issues related to energy, environment and
climate change. One of the instruments is called
Electrify, aims to address the lack of access to
clean, reliable and affordable electricity and
energy services. Additionally, there is an
ongoing call for proposals for women and
sustainable energy, in order to promote women
entrepreneurship and economic empowerment
in the sustainable energy sector.
Mr. K.M. Abdus Salam, Additional Secretary,
Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral
Resources, Bangladesh, Representative of the
Chair of the LDC group, underlined that only 34
per cent of the LDC population has access to
electricity, and therefore it will be a big
challenge to provide access to energy to more
than 600 million people in LDCs before 2030.
Asia-Pacific LDCs have improved development in
the energy sector but they still have a long way
to go. Access to energy should not be seen as an
end goal in itself but also to support the
achievement of the other goals of the 2030
Agenda. He stressed that access to energy does
not only bring lights and cooking fuels to the
households, it leverages many economic
activities that accelerate employment creation,
social and economic development. Access to
renewable energy can hugely diminish
greenhouse gas emissions.
He elaborated that most of the renewable
energy technologies are patented by developed
countries and enterprises. Therefore, LDCs need
the support of development partners in
accessing modern energy technologies, on a
highly concessional and preferential basis. He
also underlined that the LDCs remain hopeful
that the Technology Bank for LDCs would play a
catalytic role in this regard.
Hon’ble Mr. Janardan Sharma, Minister of
Energy, Government of Nepal, stressed that
energy is the major catalyst for the economic
development of Nepal and that the
development of the energy sector is highly
prioritized in the national plans. He also
mentioned the efforts for the development of
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hydropower sector via government, private and
community investments along with foreign
investments and underlined that in order to
become self-sufficient in energy generation, it is
imperative to execute small, medium and large
hydropower projects. The total installed
capacity has reached 908 MW whereas the
access to grid electricity has reached 74 per cent
of the total population. Additionally, he stated
that in the era of globalization, the significance
of foreign investment for the infrastructural
development can not be emphasized enough.
Hon’ble Dr. Min Bahadur Shrestha, Vice-
Chairman, National Planning Commission,
Government of Nepal, underlined the high
demand of energy, and the importance to
energy access not only to the households, but
also to the industrial sector to accelerate
economic growth. Access to energy is a priority
of Nepal, and therefore the implementation of
the energy efficiency program and filling the
investment gap to overcome the challenges is of
high importance.
The Vice-Chairman also noted the importance of
private sector participation in order to enhance
access to sustainable energy. Business models
should be viable from a private sector
perspective and sustainable from a government
perspective. One of the key challenges remains
access to energy for people in rural areas and
poor families, including affordability.
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Session 1 - Setting the scene -
Sustainable energy
investment plans in national
development strategies
This session discussed the main challenges in
accessing finance for accelerating energy
transition, scaling-up the current initiatives and
the role of national sustainable energy
investment plans in energy transition. In
particular, the session focused on main
challenges in preparing investment
prospectuses and how their development can
kick start the energy transition, by analysing the
investment requirements and identifying
potential financing routes.
UN-OHRLLS provided an update on the energy
access situation in Asia-Pacific LDCs and the
progress made to meet the Sustainable Energy
for All goals by 2030. In 2012, around 34 per
cent of the population in LDCs had access to
electricity. There is a huge gap between LDCs
and the rest of the world and therefore it is
critical to intensify efforts in making energy
available for all and addressing the huge gaps. In
2012, 90 per cent of the urban population and
44 per cent of the rural population had access to
electricity in the Asia-Pacific LDC's. Access to
electricity in the 13 Asia-Pacific LDCs increased
slightly, from 52.8 per cent of the population
having access in 2010, to 56.2 per cent in 2012.
From 2010 to 2012, energy access grew 3.2 per
cent annually on average in these countries. The
rate of growth has been considerably higher for
the rural population compared to the urban
population (5.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent,
respectively).
In the following presentation, the
representative of Lao PDR highlighted that from
1995 to 2005, energy access gradually
increased, which sharply accelerated from 2010
onwards. As a result, it is estimated that
currently 92 per cent of households have access
to energy in Lao PDR.
The main challenges of power development in
Lao PDR include providing good incentives for
private equity, adopting market economy and
inclusion of rural development within
hydropower projects. Additionally, the
representative underlined the government’s
strong commitment to the targets laid out in the
power sector policy since 1990, which focuses
on private sector participation and the
development of hydropower for export, and is
looking to increase the export of hydropower,
which is set to be 9000 MW by 2030.
The Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Energy of
Nepal highlighted investment opportunities.
Several prospective projects for investments for
transmission and generation throughout Nepal
were presented, demonstrating the resource
base and potentials of the power sector in
Nepal. The guiding principles for electricity
sector reform were discussed in detail, including
adoption of specific generation mix in Nepal
Power System (Storage: 40-50 %, PROR : 15-
20%, ROR : 25-30%, Other Sources : 5-10%).
The representative of Tuvalu presented the
current challenges as well as the National
Energy Policy. Tuvalu has a 98 per cent
electricity access rate, and total electricity costs
of USD 0.79 kWh, and average fuel costs of USD
0.59 kWh. All fuel is imported into the country.
In 2008, about 98 per cent of Tuvalu’s electricity
generation was diesel based. Therefore, power
costs are very sensitive to an increase in fuel
price making the high dependency on costly
imported fuel one of the key challenges for
Tuvalu. Some other challenges are high
maintenance costs of generation and high cost
for power infrastructure.
Further, it was highlighted that Tuvalu’s
National Energy Policy (NEP) is a fifteen-year
framework to 2024 and has the aim to reinforce
energy security by adopting sustainable energy
systems. The NEP announced the Government
of Tuvalu’s goal of using 100 per cent renewable
energy by 2020. In 2015, the EU funded and
completed installation of 202 kW of solar,
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batteries ancillary on three of the outer islands
of Tuvalu. Also in 2015, the Government of New
Zealand funded and completed the installation
of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects on the
remaining four outer islands with 1,030 kW of
solar PV, batteries and ancillary.
Tuvalu has integrated its sustainable energy
investment prospectus into its national
development plan. Yet, the stringent criteria and
complicated application process set by some of
the development partners to access finance as
well as the lack of information and knowledge
on the types of finance available for a country
like Tuvalu, which is isolated and with high
communication and transaction costs, hinder
accessing finance.
The representative of Bhutan presented the
energy related policies of Bhutan and discussed
challenges in access, renewables and efficiency.
The total domestic energy supply that was
650,220 TOE in 2014, 72 per cent of the energy
supplied consisted out of coal, biomass and
petroleum and 28 per cent electrical. Biomass
dominates the sector with 36 per cent. The
Rapid Assessment and Gap Analysis (RAGA)
carried out in 2012 recommended that Bhutan
should have a policy to reduce the biomass
dependency and work on capacity building for
the energy and private sectors and establish a
detailed policy on energy efficiency. Also the
main challenges faced by Bhutan are the capital
intensity, people’s concept on renewable energy
and the low rate of repayment.
During the interactive dialogue, mapping of
renewable energy resources was discussed, as it
can be beneficial for the LDCs to develop
renewable energy master plans and to prepare
feasibility studies on the renewable sources of
energy. LDCs’ dependency on the support from
regional and international organizations in the
energy sector was discussed. The importance of
exploring all the available sources and preparing
a good environment for investment and
regulatory implementation was highlighted.
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Session 2 – Financing
initiatives and business plans
that work
Least developed countries rarely benefit from
larger financing schemes to the same extent
that developing countries do because of the
scale, lack of substantial local investment and
institutional capacity constraints. Therefore,
session 2 explored the financing initiatives and
business plans that have been successful in
bringing transformation in the energy sector of
LDCs or other developing countries and
discussed how these initiatives can be scaled up
to achieve rapid energy transition.
Key questions discussed in this session included
how the current initiatives that have worked can
be scaled up and be replicated, what innovative
financing mechanisms have been successful in
the Asia-Pacific LDCs and which ones have been
the most practical and thirdly, what have been
the challenges and barriers in engaging other
sectors, such as the private sector and NGOs, in
these initiatives.
The representative of the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) began by presenting the priorities of
ADB’s Energy Policy focusing on promotion of
clean energy, maximizing access to energy and
policy reform in energy sector. ADB’s
electrification activities aim to increase
investment in energy access projects and to
reach 200 million people by 2020 Energy for All.
ADB shared examples of successful grid and off-
grid projects during the presentation. One
successful example provided was an on-grid
electrification project in Afghanistan; a power
transmission and distribution project with a USD
50 million loan / grant. The project was set up to
enhance grid power access to new consumers,
mostly the poor. The project design was
complex as the project was geographically
scattered with limited accessibility and
confronted with delays and cost increases due
to security concerns. Despite the challenges, the
outcome has been very positive due to a well-
designed project framework.
Off-grid interventions are often needed in order
to reach people in difficult geographical and
remote areas. The project development facility
of the ADB incubates energy access business
models from start-up to sustainability and helps
to refine start-ups into bankable investment
opportunities. One of the innovative business
models piloted by ADB is off-grid electrification
project in Nepal. This solar mini-grid project
placed in rural communities has a strong
business model that brings together the private
sector, community and a local bank and is based
on aggregating three dispersed, remote villages
into one larger project. The project also trained
locals for operations and maintenance work and
benefits of innovative technologies including
pre-paid metering/mobile payment.
The Founder and Chairman of the Bright Green
Energy Foundation discussed the experience of
Bangladesh in scaling up the use of solar home
systems. The innovative monthly instalment
financial model has led the Solar Home System
(SHS) programme to demonstrate a rapid
expansion in solar power in Bangladesh in the
past 20 years. Today, 15 per cent people of
Bangladesh use solar home systems as main
energy source. The challenges faced in
Bangladesh included how to create an attractive
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financial model to benefit end users and
investors, a financial policy guideline and
involvement of national banks, awareness
among the local schedule banks about clean
energy and platforms for enhanced
participation.
In order to enhance local and regional capital
markets, Bangladesh will need a policy
framework and involvement from international
donor agencies. The national financial model
through the national bank should have low or
no interest rate, a grant or subsidy incentives,
long payback period and local commercial or
schedule bank support.
Additionally, the representative of the Nepal
Electricity Authority presented grid solutions for
energy access for all and the importance of
hydroelectricity in Nepal’s energy sector. He
noted that electricity use is increasing; however
there are still large parts which are not served
by electricity yet. In Nepal, grid electricity is
served to 60 per cent of the population and off-
grid 15 per cent of the population. It was
highlighted that grid expansion is targeted
towards large loads and generators. It was
suggested to change the planning of both off-
grid and on-grid sides to make it more
sustainable. As a solution, grid planning should
look for connecting ways to off-grid for example
through inter-connection of clusters of small
power plants in a mini-grid ready for
connectivity with grid.
The representative also discussed the financial
initiative called Community Electricity User
Groups (CEUGs), which represents a growing
network of users in Nepal. This initiative,
offering subsidized distribution of electricity of
CEUGs in decentralised rural electrification, has
enabled the expansion of rural networks. From
the various experiences in Nepal on rapid grid
extension, the main lessons learnt circle around
involving community and using top-down
approach of grid-planning coordinate with
bottom-up approach to identify/prioritize and
involve private sector developers and/or allow
the use of ‘build transfer’ model for rapid
expansion of main grid.
Furthermore, the Self Employed Women’s
Association (SEWA) presented its methodology
for energy access for the poor, how solar energy
can reduce poverty and improve the lives and
livelihoods. The methodology implemented for
energy access consist of a bottom up approach,
customised energy products and services,
tailored finance models and monitoring and
evaluation. For example, with the support of
SEWA salt farmers switched from diesel pumps
to solar pumps, which enables farmers to create
savings to build income generating assets and
end the cycle of poverty.
Some of the challenges in promoting sustainable
energy initiatives are that the poor cannot
afford the high upfront costs of clean energy
products, the low quality of products and the
fact that banks tend to shy away from lending to
the poor. Some of the solutions that SEWA has
offered include establishing linkages between its
members and banks for accessing affordable
finance, training women to deliver maintenance
service, bring manufacturers and banks together
in a programmatic manner and to require high
quality through certifications and sales
warranty.
The Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihood
(RERL) program highlighted financing
mechanisms and instruments for RE projects,
issues and challenges in RE financing in Nepal
and strategies for unlocking private finance. The
majority of the funds in RE in Nepal come from
subsidies, even though subsidies only cover a
part of the costs due to the high upfront costs.
Tools for unlocking domestic finance were also
discussed, such as preparing bankable projects,
timely completion and quality work and
construction initiation only after financial
closure. With regards to technical assistance, for
example the Alternative Energy Promotion
centre (AEPC) and RERL initiatives provide
assistance, for example, in preparation of
business plans and vendor financing manuals.
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Business to Business dialogue
A business to business dialogue was organised
at the end of the first day to allow for an
exchange of experiences of the private sector in
developing sustainable energy projects. The
dialogue focused on what financing mechanism
and business models have proven to be
effective in the countries where they are
operating. In the Business to Business dialogue,
the following speakers participated: Mr. Moin
from the Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy, Mr.
Rauwerda from DNV GL, Ms. Adhikari from
Empower Generation, Mr. Pashupati from
Independent Power Producers’ Association, and
a representative of CNI and a representative of
FNCCI.
Some of the key topics discussed during the
business to business dialogue include that even
if projects do not seem viable, external actors
like the World Bank can assist in making them
viable. It was underlined that governments will
need to facilitate the involvement of these types
of external actors much more. Additionally,
emphasis was put on the importance of
diversification, enhancing skills and improving
efficiency in order to make ventures sustainable
in the long-run. It was also discussed that
investors are looking for big, long-term projects,
provided that political risks are mitigated.
Investors will need a sense of security, therefore
it is important to standardize and organize new
projects well to mitigate risks.
The importance of not forgetting the social
enterprises and small poor households, and the
large networks of rural communities, who are
still off-grid and do not have access to basic
energy, was highlighted. Methods how the
government could assist social enterprises, such
as soft loan systems, were underlined.
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Session 3 – Benefitting from
global and regional energy
initiatives
The third session of the Regional Meeting of the
Asia-Pacific LDCs on Sustainable Energy
provided a wide array of perspectives,
approaches and case studies on energy
initiatives at the regional and global levels.
The representative of UN Environment
discussed the initiative called United for
Efficiency (U4E) – launched in 2014 by the
UNEP, UNDP and other organizations – which
aims to promote energy efficiency in the lighting
and appliance sectors by promoting successful
market transformations, and also supporting
minimum energy performance standards and
environmentally sound life-cycle management.
Also covered was the Climate Technology
Centre and Network (CTCN), which acts as the
operational organization of the UNFCCC
Technology Mechanism, offering technical
assistance, capacity building and knowledge
management and networking. Specifically
through the CTCN, LDCs can progress to achieve
further technical assistance, gain from capacity-
building LDC Incubator Programme, as well as
an increased network of implementing partners.
Further on, a presentation by the World Bank
offered insights into economically-focused,
global and regional energy initiatives, such as
the Developing Improved Solutions for Cooking
(DISC), alongside the South Asia Umbrella
Energy Access Initiative. This latter initiative
works to achieve two SE4All goals (universal
electricity access and universal access to clean
cooking solutions) in India, Bangladesh and
Nepal. Also reviewed within this presentation
was a method for measuring energy access: the
Multi-Tier Framework (MTF) is a multi-faceted
means of understanding energy access, with
variables ranging from affordability, legality,
convenience, health-related variables, and many
others. Such an approach aims to establish a
global baseline for energy access, and also to
offer reliable data concerning the energy sector.
Also mentioned was the Scaling Up Renewable
Energy Program, (SREP) which has so far
approved $264 million for 23 projects and
programs, all while aiming to support increased
deployment of renewable energy solutions.
The following presentation by the Integrated
Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
(ICIMOD), headquartered in Kathmandu,
followed a similar theme of regional initiatives,
in providing an update on the status of the
Global Network of Sustainable Energy Centers.
The Himalayan Centre for Renewable Energy
and Energy Efficiency (HCREEE), which is
currently only in its preparatory phases, was
highlighted as a vehicle for promoting
innovative regional approaches to make the
sustainable energy transition goal a reality in the
region.
Other Sustainable Energy Centers include the
ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and
Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), and the Caribbean
Center for Renewable Energy and Energy
Efficiency (CCREEE). Such centers hold a number
of objectives, including promoting and creating
regional sustainable energy markets, and acting
as hubs for knowledge and partnerships. As
such, there are a number of ways that LDCs can
benefit from such regional centres, such as
improved technical capacities of regional
organizations to assist countries in achieving
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targets and implementing policies, and an
increased number of knowledge transfers and
exchanges.
In a presentation given by the Alternative
Energy Promotion Center, the LDC Renewable
Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative (REEEI)
was reviewed. The initiative was launched in
2016 at the COP 22 in Marrakech, and aims to
incorporate the existing capacities of LDCs into
existing initiatives to attend to the energy needs
of the poorest countries. The initiative is divided
into two phases. The first phase (2017-2020) will
strengthen regulatory frameworks and begin
implementing the project/programme pipeline.
The second phase (2020-2030) will see full
implementation of the initiative with rapid
scaling of renewable energy in LDCs. Also
outlined in this presentation were a number of
suggested priority action areas, such as capacity
building at all levels of governance and multi-
stakeholder engagement.
Finally, towards the end of the session, a
number of state-related energy development
case studies were presented, specifically: China,
Japan, and Nepal. In a presentation provided by
a representative of the Government of China, it
was explained that three major factors
contributed to 100 per cent electricity access for
over 1 billion people: gradual electrification
process in township and villages programs,
technologies utilising local conditions, and joint
funding from the government and companies.
The Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies
(ISEP) provided a presentation which put great
emphasis upon the importance of local
ownership, local community power and “spiral
up” development in the energy sector.
Additionally, in a presentation by the Nepal
Electricity Authority, after introducing the status
of Nepal’s national access to electricity, (90
municipalities fully electrified, 147 partially so) a
forward-looking approach was taken, taking
onto account the goals of Nepal’s increased
energy access between the years 2020 and
2030, drawing attention to grid extension and a
Community Rural Electrification Plan.
During the multi-stakeholder dialogue, a variety
of issues and concerns were addressed. One
point that was consistently addressed was the
topic of gender inclusivity. As a follow-up point,
it was noted that the topic of supporting women
through sustainable energy ought to be
addressed. Another point that was consistently
responded to was the concern of the
international arena being oversaturated with
global initiatives, noting how a vast quantity of
energy-related organizations could pose
problems for governments in terms of number
of commitments. In response, it was suggested
that such a multiplicity of organizations could be
good for government’s as well, allowing them to
pick the initiatives that suited them and their
needs best.
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Session 4 – Project
preparation skills
The fourth session of the Regional Meeting
offered many examples – theoretical and real-
world – of project selection and management.
Additionally, it reviewed how to build a robust
project pipeline needed to attract investment
and how to enhance project preparation
capacities to deploy financing models that
encourage blended finance to attract more
funds; private and public, domestic and
international. The session further debated
critical project preparation skills needed and the
role of project preparation facilities.
At the beginning of the session, in a
presentation by the Nepal Energy Authority, the
theoretical model of the “project cycle” was
presented. This cycle is divided into five distinct
steps, though the first two received the most
attention during the presentation:
Programming, Identification, Formulation,
Implementation and Evaluation. Following this,
the initial presentation described some of the
challenges faced during the selection process for
projects in the hydropower sector of Nepal. In
aiming to overcome such issues, the
presentation offered a number of priorities for
the project selection process, namely:
relevance, feasibility (financial, economic, etc.)
and sustainability, (environmental, financial,
management-related, etc.) all while noting that
the project selection process is crucial for Nepal.
A variety of other challenges were also outlined,
such as cross-border trade and geology.
The following presentation by the Global Energy
Interconnection Development and Cooperation
Organization (GEIDCO) focused on proposals by
the President of China, Xi Jinping, to establish
the Global Energy Interconnection (GEI), to
promote clean energy development and combat
climate change on a global level. Also presented
was the Energy Assistance Initiative, which – in
partnership with the OHRLLS and GEIDCO – will
select up to two LDCs every year to provide
support in the area of energy development.
The next presentation by the Norwegian
company DNV GL focused on business
assurance, global classification and technical
assurance, among other areas and sectors. The
representative of DNV GL also discussed their
contributions to project preparation, i.e.
through Due Diligence Reports.
The representative of the UNCDF discussed
energy poverty and income poverty, and how
finance remains a major barrier. To end the
cycle caused by energy poverty and income
poverty, the representative highlighted critical
factors for effective project development,
including customized and affordable financial
services to low income households for accessing
clean energy services. It is important to realize
the opportunity to encourage innovative ideas
in the private sector and to understand the
demand and the supply side while designing a
project. Additionally, it was noted that there
should be a link with government priorities,
initiatives and policies for effective project
development.
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Mr. Mahesh Acharya, Energy policy expert,
Nepal, discussed that in order to reach the
Sustainable Development Goals, Nepal aims to
install 10,000 MW capacity of hydropower by
2030 and increase grid access to 99 per cent of
the population in 2030. However, the challenges
of the low level of investment in the energy
sector have been mentioned, such as the
absence of a focused sector plan, policies and
strategies, unrealistic revenue and cost
estimations, and the inadequate regulatory
frameworks, public resistance and weak
institutional capacity to study, analyse or
negotiate and poor implementation capacity in
the public sector utility. In order to enhance
project implementation capacity, the
government needs to allocate sufficient funds
for project preparation contributing towards
establishment of project pipeline of bankable
project sand capacity development within the
sector agencies.
During the interactive dialogue, it was
mentioned that depending on financial as well
as socio-geological assessments, project costs
could increase. Therefore, it was proposed that
the government could create “an idea/proposal
bank”, where the projects should be well
analyzed, prepared, sequenced and then
projects given priority would be be selected and
coordinated by the government.
*** ***
The main messages from the presentations and
stakeholder discussion over the two days
include:
The importance of using sustainable
sources of energy for the Asia-Pacific LDCs
to be able join the rapid pace of
development and progress being achieved
in the region.
Energy intensity is high in the Asia-Pacific
LDCs. It was underlined that accelerating
energy access and improving energy
efficiency can go together. Urgent and
scaled-up efforts are needed to address the
both areas.
Though many LDCs have vast resources for
energy generation, they have limited
technical and financial capacity. Therefore,
it is critical to continue providing capacity
building to LDCs in the power sector. LDCs
need to work closely together with
development partners to develop
programmes aligned with their national
priorities.
LDCs are highly dependent on regional and
international organizations’ support and
assistance in preparing investment
prospectuses.
An enabling environment and a supportive
investment climate should be an integral
part of investment prospectus, building on
comparative advantages of the country.
To accomplish sustainable and affordable
energy for all requires a variety of
approaches of financing modules and
instruments. There is no “one-size-fits”
model for all as each country’s transition to
a sustainable energy sector involves a
unique mix of resource opportunities and
challenges and financing models and
instruments be designed to meet the
unique needs and resources of each country
with the necessary mix of grid, mini-grid
and off-grid solutions.
• 4 out of 5 persons lack access to
electricity in LDCs
• 9 out of 10 persons lack access to
modern cooking in LDCs
• According to Sustainable Energy for All,
35 LDCs rank within the bottom 40
countries for energy access, energy
efficiency and renewable energy
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Off-grid intervention is needed in order to
reach people in difficult geographical areas
and severe remoteness. Finance
mechanisms for “last-mile access’ as well as
focusing on the lack of energy access
impacting women need to play an
important role on the way forward.
Sustainable energy and women’s
empowerment are mutually reinforcing.
The private sector can play a major role in
ensuring energy access, especially in rural
and remote areas through solar household,
mini-grid and off-grid solutions.
New and innovative business models will
have to be implemented. Customized and
affordable financial services need to be
accessible to low-income households
including women in order to improve
energy access.
An environmental viewpoint on energy
initiatives was offered, it was discussed how
LDCs can receive technical assistance and
have access to knowledge management
systems through the Climate Technology
Centre and Network, operational
organization of the UNFCCC Technology
Mechanism
The Multi-Tier Framework is a multi-faceted
approach to understanding energy access,
reaching across a large spectrum of factors:
legality, reliability, health-related factors
and others. In understanding and
responding to challenges in the
implementation of sustainable energy,
consideration of such varied factors would
be key.
LDCs need more grant based external public
finance as their potential to raise capital
from private sources of finance is more
limited than other developing countries’.
Project development should have
manageable goals and priorities in line with
national development strategies and more
funds should be allocated to project
preparation.
Project preparation capacities and skills in
LDCs to attract more funds; private and
public, domestic and international, should
be improved.
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Closing session
Under-Secretary General and High
Representative Mr. Gyan Chandra Acharya
expressed his sincere appreciation to all the
participants of the meeting, recognizing their
commitment and active interaction during the
meeting. Mr. Acharya then went on to describe
some of the key points of the meeting,
including: the strong commitment of the LDCs
for delivering on energy goals, the positive
effects of reliable and affordable energy for
sustainable development, and the necessity of
better access to financing. Mr. Acharya also
noted that the meeting served as an
opportunity to share experiences and best
practices among the participants.
Mr. Acharya emphasized the intent of the UN to
work on improving energy access, and
underlined the importance of the meeting in the
implementation of the SDGs.
Mr. Gauri Pradhan, International Coordinator of
LDC Watch, extended his sincere appreciation to
the organizers, UN-OHRLLS and the Government
of Nepal for successfully convening the meeting.
Mr. Pradhan mentioned the fact that only 30
per cent of the 900 million people living in the
48 LDCs have access to energy. Hence, 7 out of
10 of the LDC citizens do not have access. LDC’s
particularly, in the Asia Pacific region, have
potential for producing renewable energy.
However, the main constraint for capitalizing on
this potential is the financial resources, limited
capacity and enabling environment.
The regional meeting has shown the way to
access and explore potential finance to
accelerate energy transformation. Additionally,
he stated that capacity building is very
important to be able to access finance and
overcome existing challenges to execute
sustainable energy projects and it has further
elucidated on the increasing role of national
governments, private sectors and CSOs for
sustainable energy investment.
Mr. Pradhan also mentioned that the national
governments should create an enabling
environment for public and private investors
through robust policies and regulations.
Towards the end of his presentation, he
emphasized that sustainable energy will
enhance economic development but will also
contribute towards social empowerment that
will improve basic services such as education,
health, food, employment and water and
sanitation.
Dr. Arbind Kumar Mishra of the National
Planning Commission of Nepal, in his closing
statement, recognized the many challenges
mentioned during the conference. However, he
also remarked upon the instances of strong
national ownership and political will during the
conference, recalling having also seen
dedication of regions and nations to achieve
SDG 7. Afterwards, he reflected upon a few
successful best practices in energy by various
countries, also emphasizing that transferring to
sustainable energy will require the support and
participation of numerous groups. Finally, he
briefly presented the draft of the co-chairs
summary report, extending an invitation to
participants to submit their suggestions and
their views to contribute to the report.
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