Page 1
1
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Develop-
ment and Packaging
1 Background
The promotion of clean renewable energies (including clean cooking fuels and stoves, advanced
biomass cooking stoves and biogas systems, micro hydro projects and wind and solar initiatives)
is a pro-poor development strategy for Africa, which has a large share of rural population and is
highly vulnerable to climate change-induced calamities such as droughts. The energy poverty in
rural areas deprives communities of economic and social opportunities as they do not have ac-
cess to, or cannot afford, adequate energy services. Women are disproportionately affected by
the lack of energy, as they undertake the majority of household chores. In urban areas, some
communities lack access to electricity and experience frequent power cuts due to electricity defi-
cits. Unfortunately, many national and regional initiatives and programmes aimed at reducing
poverty have not adequately taken into account the pivotal role of energy in human activities.
As one of the world’s regions most vulnerable to climate change, should not Africa support
global climate change mitigation efforts? By and large, African countries have largely untapped
renewable energy potential, especially hydropower, geothermal energy, solar, wind power, and
biomass (the latter being used more inefficiently). The sub region must develop effective nation-
al policies on renewable energy and energy efficiency, and take advantage of opportunities for
technological leapfrogging, using, among others, the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development
Mechanism. There is a growing consensus that enhancing energy efficiency and promoting ac-
cess to clean and renewable energies are effective methods for mitigating climate change. Cost-
effective energy efficiency improvements and clean energy technologies are often self-financing
in favourable economic and regulatory conditions, and sub-Saharan Africa can learn from the
experience of countries, which have successfully promoted and implemented this approach.
Knowledge, policy and institutional capacity are currently insufficient to promote clean energy
and energy efficiency in Africa. In particular, the continent lacks an enabling environment for the
promotion of investment in the sector.
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
2
In Africa, bioenergy constitutes an important source of energy, and would have even greater po-
tential if sustainably exploited. However its current exploitation is largely within unsustainable
systems with negative impacts on livelihoods in the areas of health, environment and social im-
pacts, including gender (ECA and AU 2014). Over 80% of the population in Africa depends on
solid fuels, primarily traditional biomass for cooking and heating, with related negative effects
such as respiratory diseases from indoor air pollution, and impacts on social outcomes as a result
of extensive time spent on firewood collection rather than on social and productive uses. Produc-
tion of charcoal is highly inefficient, thus contributing to deforestation, as does the inefficient use
of firewood and charcoal in applications such as brick firing and food processing (e.g. fish smok-
ing). Although bioenergy has many applications as a modern source of energy, high value bioen-
ergy application such as gasification, ethanol production, use of bagasse for electricity generation
and others are not fully exploited in Africa. In addition to providing energy for enabling econom-
ic and social activities, bioenergy can also reduce the import burden imposed by imported fossil
fuels. However, even in its modern form, bioenergy exploitation can have unintended negative
consequences if not well managed. Large-scale biofuels production and its associated mono
cropping can reduce biodiversity and disturb ecosystems. The acquisition of land for biofuel pro-
duction can also reduce food security as well as deprive rural people of the one asset they nor-
mally depend on: land. Biodiversity and food security effects of unsustainable bio-energy exploi-
tation can have wider effects across local areas as well as countries and lead to conflict.
There is therefore a huge biofuel potential in Africa. However, such potential is not adequately
harnessed and Africa is losing out on this competitive advantage. There are many barriers against
successful and widespread exploitation of this renewable energy source on the continent, includ-
ing ineffective supporting policy (and associated regulations and legislations) and lack of finan-
cial support. On the whole Africa does not have a coordinated approach towards biofuels devel-
opment, although some RECs and a few countries have begun to address this.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in partnership with the African Union Commission
(AUC) and NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) implementing a project which
promotes modern biofuels development in Africa, particularly providing policy and regulatory
support. The project activities should lead to (a) an establishment of harmonized financial, insti-
tutional and policy frameworks for the promotion of biofuels mainly for household and transport
end uses in Africa; (b) an enhanced capacity of African countries to formulate and implement
gender sensitive policies and programmes on biofuel development; and (c) an improved capacity
of African countries, particularly project developers, to package biofuels projects for investment.
This project is implemented to support the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All
(SE4ALL) initiative and the AUC Bioenergy Policy Framework and Guidelines. The latter,
which was endorsed by the African heads of state and government in January 2013, (a) builds
consensus on shared framework that inspires and provides guidance to individual African coun-
tries and regions in developing bioenergy policies and regulations; and (b) enhances awareness
Page 3
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
3
among African policymakers and civil society on the need for environmentally friendly and so-
cially acceptable bioenergy development policies.
The overall objective of the project is to build the capacity in order to promote the production
and usage of biofuels, as well as to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction. The
main activities of the project are as follows:
• Case studies on the experience of enabling policies and regulatory reforms that facilitate
the adoption of the biofuels technologies.
• Regional capacity building workshops based on case studies to share the lessons learned,
and link these lessons to local context and experience.
• Guidelines, training materials and manuals, model agreements and standards for creating
a harmonized enabling environment for uptake of biofuels in Africa.
• Regional Training workshops on: (a) policy and regulations; (b) establishing the national
systems of innovation (linking R&D to industrial policy); (c) biofuels standards; (d) bio-
fuels project development; and contract negotiation (financing).
• Providing specific and demand-driven technical assistance to identified countries on how
they can develop and modernise the biofuel sector in order to generate modern electricity,
heat energy, and/or transport fuels.
•Baseline studies on
bioenergy development
•Bioenergy Framework &
Policy Guidines (endorced by
CEMA)
2011-12
•Bioenergy Resolution
adopted by AU Assembly
•Mainstreaming of
Framework incl. gender
2013-14 •Capacity Bulding Workshops
on best practices
•Technical training on biofuels
projects (and ID of projects
•Project development and
aackaging
2015-16
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
4
The promotion of clean renewable energies is a pro-poor development strategy for Africa, which
has a large share of rural population and is highly vulnerable to climate change-induced calami-
ties such as droughts. The energy poverty in rural areas deprives communities of economic and
social opportunities as they do not have access to, or cannot afford, adequate energy services.
Women are disproportionately affected by the lack of energy, as they undertake the majority of
household chores. One of the most effective ways of addressing energy poverty, particularly in
underdeveloped areas in Africa, as well as facilitating or unlocking economics development is to
develop a modern biofuels sector.
The indicator of a successful implementation of this project will be the number of countries that,
as a result of the activities above, have embarked on implementing policies, measures and ac-
tions (PAMs) to modernise the biofuels sector. In addition, and more poignantly, it will be the
number of projects that have been designed and ready for funding. Therefore, the commitment
from government ministries/departments in charge of energy, local project developers (or private
sector) and NGOs will be essential if the expected accomplishments are to be achieved.
2 Expected Accomplishment of the Workshop
However, due to diverse limitations, the modern bioenergy industry is heavily underdeveloped in
Africa. Some of the limitations could be, inter alia, attributed to the following factors: (i) lack of
bankable bioenergy projects;(ii) misinformation on the impact of bioenergy, particularly biofuels
on food security; (iii) lack of reliable information packages on the bioenergy industry and its po-
tential contribution to African development; (iv) weakness or absence of policy and regulatory
frameworks that guide bioenergy development; (iii) weak bioenergy development and implemen-
tation strategies; and (iv) underdeveloped bioenergy market and lack of financial resources.
Therefore, the workshop is expected to devise a detailed, implementable bioenergy roadmap, as
well as timelines. It is expected that this roadmap will be monitored in order to determine the
impact and elucidate lessons learnt for capacity building.
3 Aims of the Workshop
The purpose of this workshop is threefold. The first aim is to recap on the outcomes of the 2015
joint ECA-AUC-NPCA project on bioenergy development for the transport and household sec-
tors. In particular, this will recap the major outcome of this intervention: development of pipeline
projects by African policy and local project developers. These projects are the outcome an inten-
sive process of capacity building based on selected case studies in South Africa, Mauritius, Ken-
ya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and Senegal, as well as biofuels training (on policy and reg-
ulatory issues, standards, project development and contract negotiation).
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
5
The second aim of the workshop is an interactive process on how these project concepts can be
placed in the IRENA’s Virtual Market Place for Renewable Energy Projects. The latter is ex-
plained in full below. This requires some skills and access to the virtual network. This will be
facilitated by IRENA and will require access to and use of software-based methodology. There-
fore, each participant will need to bring a computer to the meeting for this exercise.
The third aim of the workshop is to introduce the project developers to the array of the modali-
ties of African-based renewable energy initiatives. The latter support the development of renew-
able energies, particularly bioenergy technology development. The support that is expected is the
areas of (a) project packaging, (b) support with the enabling environment, (c) project finance and
investment requirements, and (d) match-making.
4 Workshop Programming
The workshop will take place over 3.5 days. The first day of the workshop will be devoted to the
introductory remarks (early morning) as well as the presentation of all the identified project con-
cepts. The second day of the workshop will be focussed on each project developers learning on
how to put their projects on market place. The third of the workshop will be an interactive pro-
cess between the project developers (at country levels) as well as representatives of the targeted
initiatives. This will be a facilitative process that will take place in small group according to the
project categorisation. The last half day of the workshop will be focussed on plenary and will
highlight roadmaps for project packaging and finance based on the outcomes of the small group
meetings (on 3rd
day). The provisional programme of work is as follows:
Morning Afternoon
DAY 1 • Opening statements (AUC, NPCA, ECA)
• Workshop objectives & process
• Presentation of the Market Place
(IRENA)
Presentations of Projects
• Enabling environment
• Capacity Building & Awareness Raising
• Bioenergy project developers
DAY 2 Presentations of current initiatives
• Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
• Climate Investment Fund
• Green Africa Power
• Renewable Energy Performance Platform
• African Renewable Energy Initiative
• European Union-Africa Energy Partner-
ship
Interactive process between project devel-
opers & initiatives
• Modalities and conditions for support
• Gap analysis and areas of support
• Roadmap and way forwards for support
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
6
DAY 3 Roadmapping
• Workshop Summary (highlights)
• Presentation of the roadmaps
• Action Plans
• Formal Closure
5 The Projects Pipeline Sample: 2015 Outcomes of the DA Project
The following project concepts were received as an outcome of the ECA-AUC-NEPAD project
cited above. This workshop will aim to refine these concepts as well as providing individual
roadmap on their further development:
Project Title Country Project Champion
1. A study of the roles of growers in biofuel value chain Harare, Zimba-
bwe
Mr. Aleck Gubba, Director – Minis-
try of Energy and Power
([email protected] )
2. Scaling up the production of biodiesel in Botswana Gaborone, Bot-
swana
Mr. Boiki Mabowe, Chief Executive
Officer, Biodiesel Botswana
([email protected] )
3. Biofuels development strategy to reduce reliance on
imported petroleum, especially for households and
transport use
Maseru, Leso-
tho
Mrs. Palesa Malataliana - Depart-
ment of Energy
([email protected] )
4. Innovative capacity building and awareness for key
stakeholders in the development of biofuels in Bot-
swana
Gaborone, Bot-
swana
Mrs. Nozipho Wright – Private Con-
sultant ([email protected] )
5. Raising awareness on modern biofuels as an im-
portant energy source in Zimbabwe
Harare, Zimba-
bwe
Mrs. Abigail T. Magugu, Director,
Women and Resources in Eastern
and Southern Africa
([email protected] )
6. Assistance in the development of implementation
strategy for biofuel development in Malawi
Blantyre, Ma-
lawi
Mr. Joseph Kalowekamo, Director,
Renewables – Ministry of Energy
([email protected]
7. Rural development project for production of 8,000
Litres of ethanol per day to supply households &
transport in the Southern Africa
Pretoria, South
Africa
Ms. Fikile Hlatshwayo, FH Renew-
able Energy Solutions Pty Ltd
([email protected] )
8. Biofuels target setting and regional harmonization of Mbabane, Swa- Mrs. Candy Stromvig, Ministry of
Natural Resources & Energy
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
7
Swaziland biofuels standards ziland ([email protected] )
9. Study on how Mauritius could develop strategies for
uptake of ethanol for the transport sector.
Port Louis,
Mauritius
Mr. Hemant Multra, Ministry of
Energy and Public Utilities (EEMO)
([email protected] )
10. Communication strategy for all stakeholders in the
biofuels sphere in Lesotho
Maseru, Leso-
tho
Ms. Makhosi Makhobalo, Private
Consultant
([email protected] )
11. Financing options for bagasse energy co-generation
potential in Zambia
Lusaka, Zambia Mr. Shadreck Saili, Zambian Devel-
opment Agency
([email protected] )
12. Feasibility and viability for uptake of biofuel blend-
ing commercially and development of sustainable
clean cookstove programme in Swaziland
Manzini, Swa-
ziland
Mr. Thembinkosi Ndzimandze, Min-
istry of Natural Resources & Energy
([email protected] )
13. Biofuels value-chain promotion & development pro-
ject to enhance Ethiopia’s efficient, resilient & sus-
tainable energy.
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Mr. Dereje Worknhe, Biofuels Di-
rectorate, Ministry of Water, Irriga-
tion & Energy
([email protected] .
14. Promotion of modern biofuels for transport and
household sectors through information awareness in
Tanzania
Dar-es-Salam,
Tanzania
Eng. Estomih Sawe, Director,
TaTEDO,
15. Improved cookstoves promotion though local tech-
nology adaptation, innovation and marketing
Dar-es-Salam,
Tanzania
Eng. Estomih Sawe, Director,
TaTEDO
16. Mainstreaming biofuels in the policy, promotion of
Jatropha and oil palm kernel and creation of jobs for
marginalized groups in Burundi
Bujumbura,
Burundi
Mr. Jean-Marie Nibizi, Director
SHINE ([email protected] )
17. Promotion of energy conservation & reduced defor-
estation through gender sensitive awareness creation
and adaptation of energy efficient locally produced
improved cookstoves usage 2016-2019.
Kampala,
Uganda
Mr. Desmond Tutu Opio, Uganda
Energy Credit Capitalization Com-
pany ([email protected] )
18. Mechanization of Cassava Production for Enhanced
Food and Energy Security and Bioenergy Feedstock
Production in Ghana
Accra, Ghana Mrs. Gifty Tettey
[email protected]
19. Development of locally fabricated biomass gasifica-
tion units for efficient thermal applications in Ugan-
da
Kampala,
Uganda,
Shira Bayigga Mukiibi
[email protected] ; shi-
[email protected]
20. Scaling up the production of ethanol and technolo- Antananarivo, Dina Anjaraniana Razafimahatratra
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
8
gies for cooking Madagascar & Ando Rakoto
[email protected]
[email protected]
6 Linking with Relevant Renewable Energy Initiatives
The workshop will be engaging the support of the existing project support that have footprint in
Africa. It is expected that these identified initiatives will give further impetus and on-going sup-
port in refinement, packaging and fund mobilisation for the projects post bioenergy energy pro-
ject development workshop. Such support and further engagement will be monitored over time to
track impact as well as lesson learned.
a) Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
Established in 2011, SEFA is a USD 95 million Multi-Donor Trust Fund – managed by
the African Development Bank, and assists African Nations and Private Entrepreneur’s
unlocking investments in sustainable energy. The Fund supports the following:
Project Preparation
Window
Enabling Environment
Window
Equity Investment
Window
Scope • Preparation support
to RE and EE Pro-
jects
• Total Costs USD 30
– 200 million]
• Beneficiaries: Pri-
vate Companies
• Enabling Environ-
ment Support
• Beneficiaries: Gov-
ernments and Na-
tional entities
• Seed/growth capital
for RE and EE pro-
jects [USD 10-80
million]
• Beneficiaries: Pri-
vate Companies
Financing Instrument • Non-reimbursable
grants
• Non reimbursable
grants for technical
assistance and ca-
pacity building
• Equity and reim-
bursable grants for
project preparation
Activities • Preparation activi-
ties from Origina-
tion to Financial
Close
• Capacity Building
and Advisory, Poli-
cy and Regulatory
Development, Mar-
ket Development
and Preparation
• Preparation Activi-
ties (TA component)
• Investment Capital
b) IRENA Sustainable Energy Market Place
As part of the IRENA’s objective to sustain and facilitate the spread of renewable energy
technologies, IRENA has implemented a virtual “Market Place” for renewable energy
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
9
projects. The Sustainable Energy Market Place is a free platform for project owner, gov-
ernments, financiers, and service and technology providers to help develop and drive in-
vestments to new renewable energy projects.
The objective of the virtual market place is accelerate the scale-up investments – both
public and private – to promote initiation, development and financing of low carbon re-
newable energy projects by bringing together project owners, governments, financiers
and service and technology providers. It makes investment opportunities visible and easi-
ly identifiable for investors and helps project developers to identify relevant funding
sources and expertise:
• Search information of interests like projects with certain investment area, financing
sources, or advisors according to specific needs of the project; and
• Find information about and contact relevant entities, projects or financing instru-
ments.
c) Climate Investment Fund
The main purpose of the Climate Investment Fund is to pilot and demonstrate the eco-
nomic, social and environmental viability of low carbon development pathways in the
energy sector by creating new economic opportunities and increasing energy access
through the use of renewable energy. It is a USD 8.1 billion investment from the African
Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank (EB), In-
ter-American Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank (WB). One of the sub-
programmes of is a USD 796 million “Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme”
(SREP), which is piloted in several African countries including Madagascar, Malawi,
Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia.
It mainly provides investments in the form of grant and credit to eligible projects that are
less than 10 MW in solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, and small hydro; electricity and
thermal; and off-grid and mini grids. It also provides grants towards capacity building
and advisory services to governments for the (a) development of energy policies and leg-
islation; (b) assessment of technical resources potential; (c) strengthening governance
and institutional capacity; and (d) creation of incentive scheme to improve financial via-
bility of RETs.
d) Green Africa Power
This Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) facility offers quasi-equity debt
and contingent lines of credit. The total facility size is USD 200 million. It receives funds
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
10
from the UK Department for International Development (DFID), UK Department for En-
ergy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Government of Norway. Its fund advisors are
Eiser Infrastructureand CAMCO Clean Energy. It focuses on advanced projects which
are struggling to reach financial close by providing mezzanine finance (subordinated
debt, quasi-equity debt); contingent lines of credit; long tenuresand funding not readily
available from commercial markets.
The mandate of the Green Africa Power is least developed countries, and covers a wide
range of renewable energy technologies. Most of these are utility-scale, grid-connected
projects. It provides later-stage project development support and attracts private sector fi-
nance.
e) Renewable Energy Performance Platform
This is an initiative of UNEP, European Investment Bank (EIB) and funded by the UK
Department of Energy and Climate Change, managed by CAMCO and GreenStream. The
initiative addresses key issues and barriers such as the limited sources of development fi-
nance; limited commercial viability of small-scale renewable energy projects (i.e. Level-
ised costs are not sustainable/equity returns are low); long-term debt (unavailability, high
pricing and short tenors); lack of access to risk mitigation instruments; and lack of tech-
nical know-how amongst small-scale developers.
The REPP mandate is on small-scale renewables based in least developed countries.
Nineteen African countries are target countries and also cover a wide range of renewable
energy technologies. REPP is developer-focused. It also aims to unlocking private sector
finance.
It provides products, services and solutions such as technical assistance during develop-
ment (technical studiesLegal and due diligence costs); structuring support (financial
structuring, Facilitating access to risk mitigation instruments, and facilitating access to long-
term debt); results-based finance.
f) African Renewable Energy Initiative
The AREI wants to help Africa to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, enhanced
well-being and sound economic development by ensuring universal access to clean, ap-
propriate and affordable energy sources. Across the continents it hopes to achieve at least
300 GW of new and additional installed capacity with initial 10 GW by 2020. This
means increased (a) number of users connected to the national grids or new mini-grids;
(b) share of renewable energy consumption in productive sectors: agriculture, industry,
and services; and (c) share of local/African firms providing renewable equipment and
supply on the continent. The implementation timeline of the AREI is as follows:
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
11
Establishment Phase Phase I (2016-2020) Phase II (2020-2020
Co
nti
nen
tal
Establishment of AREI
Delivery Unit and Trus-
tee Facility set up
• All core and crosscutting
work areas initiated
• Delivery unit fully opera-
tional
• Africa Energy Institute
established
• AREI Delivery Unit fur-
ther expanded
• Trustee Facility further
capacitated
• Most successful schemes
adopted and modified
across the continent
Su
b-r
egio
na
l
Consultations with
Sub-regional institu-
tions
• GCF obtained for cluster
of countries
• Sub-regional programs &
pilot efforts
• Sub-regional efforts &
programs further consol-
idated
Na
tio
na
l
Countries shaping for-
mally establishing
AREI
• Comprehensive polic-
es/programs in some coun-
tries
• Project support in many
countries
• Assessments, planning
studies & engagement in
all countries
• Comprehensive poli-
cies/programs & effec-
tive RE incentives
schemes in all countries
g) European Union-Africa Energy Partnership
The EU Energy Initiative – Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF) was founded in 2004
by several EU member states and the European Commission as a flexible instrument of the EU
Energy Initiative (EUEI). The EUEI PDF is currently funded by the European Commission, Aus-
tria, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. An integral part of our mandate is
the coordination of our activities with a variety of partners from the EU as well as regional and
international organisations. EUEI PDF works with partner countries and regions to develop poli-
cies and strategies that contribute to improved access to affordable and sustainable energy ser-
vices. Its activities focus on Africa, but also operate in other parts of the world, such as Southeast
Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific.
EUEI PDF’s goal is to support the creation of an enabling environment for investments in sus-
tainable energy markets in developing countries through (a) policy, regulation and strategy de-
velopment; (b) institutional building and strengthening; (c) private sector cooperation; (d) ca-
pacity development; and (e) knowledge sharing.
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
12
7 Workshop Venue and Other Logistics
This workshop will take place at the African Union Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa.
The dates for the workshops are 26-28 October 2016. An Aide Memoire, which outlines useful
information about the logistics and other information, will be sent to confirmed participants.
Page 13
1
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Develop-
ment and Packaging
1 Background
The promotion of clean renewable energies (including clean cooking fuels and stoves, advanced
biomass cooking stoves and biogas systems, micro hydro projects and wind and solar initiatives)
is a pro-poor development strategy for Africa, which has a large share of rural population and is
highly vulnerable to climate change-induced calamities such as droughts. The energy poverty in
rural areas deprives communities of economic and social opportunities as they do not have ac-
cess to, or cannot afford, adequate energy services. Women are disproportionately affected by
the lack of energy, as they undertake the majority of household chores. In urban areas, some
communities lack access to electricity and experience frequent power cuts due to electricity defi-
cits. Unfortunately, many national and regional initiatives and programmes aimed at reducing
poverty have not adequately taken into account the pivotal role of energy in human activities.
As one of the world’s regions most vulnerable to climate change, should not Africa support
global climate change mitigation efforts? By and large, African countries have largely untapped
renewable energy potential, especially hydropower, geothermal energy, solar, wind power, and
biomass (the latter being used more inefficiently). The sub region must develop effective nation-
al policies on renewable energy and energy efficiency, and take advantage of opportunities for
technological leapfrogging, using, among others, the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development
Mechanism. There is a growing consensus that enhancing energy efficiency and promoting ac-
cess to clean and renewable energies are effective methods for mitigating climate change. Cost-
effective energy efficiency improvements and clean energy technologies are often self-financing
in favourable economic and regulatory conditions, and sub-Saharan Africa can learn from the
experience of countries, which have successfully promoted and implemented this approach.
Knowledge, policy and institutional capacity are currently insufficient to promote clean energy
and energy efficiency in Africa. In particular, the continent lacks an enabling environment for the
promotion of investment in the sector.
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
2
In Africa, bioenergy constitutes an important source of energy, and would have even greater po-
tential if sustainably exploited. However its current exploitation is largely within unsustainable
systems with negative impacts on livelihoods in the areas of health, environment and social im-
pacts, including gender (ECA and AU 2014). Over 80% of the population in Africa depends on
solid fuels, primarily traditional biomass for cooking and heating, with related negative effects
such as respiratory diseases from indoor air pollution, and impacts on social outcomes as a result
of extensive time spent on firewood collection rather than on social and productive uses. Produc-
tion of charcoal is highly inefficient, thus contributing to deforestation, as does the inefficient use
of firewood and charcoal in applications such as brick firing and food processing (e.g. fish smok-
ing). Although bioenergy has many applications as a modern source of energy, high value bioen-
ergy application such as gasification, ethanol production, use of bagasse for electricity generation
and others are not fully exploited in Africa. In addition to providing energy for enabling econom-
ic and social activities, bioenergy can also reduce the import burden imposed by imported fossil
fuels. However, even in its modern form, bioenergy exploitation can have unintended negative
consequences if not well managed. Large-scale biofuels production and its associated mono
cropping can reduce biodiversity and disturb ecosystems. The acquisition of land for biofuel pro-
duction can also reduce food security as well as deprive rural people of the one asset they nor-
mally depend on: land. Biodiversity and food security effects of unsustainable bio-energy exploi-
tation can have wider effects across local areas as well as countries and lead to conflict.
There is therefore a huge biofuel potential in Africa. However, such potential is not adequately
harnessed and Africa is losing out on this competitive advantage. There are many barriers against
successful and widespread exploitation of this renewable energy source on the continent, includ-
ing ineffective supporting policy (and associated regulations and legislations) and lack of finan-
cial support. On the whole Africa does not have a coordinated approach towards biofuels devel-
opment, although some RECs and a few countries have begun to address this.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in partnership with the African Union Commission
(AUC) and NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) implementing a project which
promotes modern biofuels development in Africa, particularly providing policy and regulatory
support. The project activities should lead to (a) an establishment of harmonized financial, insti-
tutional and policy frameworks for the promotion of biofuels mainly for household and transport
end uses in Africa; (b) an enhanced capacity of African countries to formulate and implement
gender sensitive policies and programmes on biofuel development; and (c) an improved capacity
of African countries, particularly project developers, to package biofuels projects for investment.
This project is implemented to support the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All
(SE4ALL) initiative and the AUC Bioenergy Policy Framework and Guidelines. The latter,
which was endorsed by the African heads of state and government in January 2013, (a) builds
consensus on shared framework that inspires and provides guidance to individual African coun-
tries and regions in developing bioenergy policies and regulations; and (b) enhances awareness
Page 15
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
3
among African policymakers and civil society on the need for environmentally friendly and so-
cially acceptable bioenergy development policies.
The overall objective of the project is to build the capacity in order to promote the production
and usage of biofuels, as well as to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction. The
main activities of the project are as follows:
• Case studies on the experience of enabling policies and regulatory reforms that facilitate
the adoption of the biofuels technologies.
• Regional capacity building workshops based on case studies to share the lessons learned,
and link these lessons to local context and experience.
• Guidelines, training materials and manuals, model agreements and standards for creating
a harmonized enabling environment for uptake of biofuels in Africa.
• Regional Training workshops on: (a) policy and regulations; (b) establishing the national
systems of innovation (linking R&D to industrial policy); (c) biofuels standards; (d) bio-
fuels project development; and contract negotiation (financing).
• Providing specific and demand-driven technical assistance to identified countries on how
they can develop and modernise the biofuel sector in order to generate modern electricity,
heat energy, and/or transport fuels.
•Baseline studies on
bioenergy development
•Bioenergy Framework &
Policy Guidines (endorced by
CEMA)
2011-12
•Bioenergy Resolution
adopted by AU Assembly
•Mainstreaming of
Framework incl. gender
2013-14 •Capacity Bulding Workshops
on best practices
•Technical training on biofuels
projects (and ID of projects
•Project development and
aackaging
2015-16
Page 16
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
4
The promotion of clean renewable energies is a pro-poor development strategy for Africa, which
has a large share of rural population and is highly vulnerable to climate change-induced calami-
ties such as droughts. The energy poverty in rural areas deprives communities of economic and
social opportunities as they do not have access to, or cannot afford, adequate energy services.
Women are disproportionately affected by the lack of energy, as they undertake the majority of
household chores. One of the most effective ways of addressing energy poverty, particularly in
underdeveloped areas in Africa, as well as facilitating or unlocking economics development is to
develop a modern biofuels sector.
The indicator of a successful implementation of this project will be the number of countries that,
as a result of the activities above, have embarked on implementing policies, measures and ac-
tions (PAMs) to modernise the biofuels sector. In addition, and more poignantly, it will be the
number of projects that have been designed and ready for funding. Therefore, the commitment
from government ministries/departments in charge of energy, local project developers (or private
sector) and NGOs will be essential if the expected accomplishments are to be achieved.
2 Expected Accomplishment of the Workshop
However, due to diverse limitations, the modern bioenergy industry is heavily underdeveloped in
Africa. Some of the limitations could be, inter alia, attributed to the following factors: (i) lack of
bankable bioenergy projects;(ii) misinformation on the impact of bioenergy, particularly biofuels
on food security; (iii) lack of reliable information packages on the bioenergy industry and its po-
tential contribution to African development; (iv) weakness or absence of policy and regulatory
frameworks that guide bioenergy development; (iii) weak bioenergy development and implemen-
tation strategies; and (iv) underdeveloped bioenergy market and lack of financial resources.
Therefore, the workshop is expected to devise a detailed, implementable bioenergy roadmap, as
well as timelines. It is expected that this roadmap will be monitored in order to determine the
impact and elucidate lessons learnt for capacity building.
3 Aims of the Workshop
The purpose of this workshop is threefold. The first aim is to recap on the outcomes of the 2015
joint ECA-AUC-NPCA project on bioenergy development for the transport and household sec-
tors. In particular, this will recap the major outcome of this intervention: development of pipeline
projects by African policy and local project developers. These projects are the outcome an inten-
sive process of capacity building based on selected case studies in South Africa, Mauritius, Ken-
ya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and Senegal, as well as biofuels training (on policy and reg-
ulatory issues, standards, project development and contract negotiation).
Page 17
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
5
The second aim of the workshop is an interactive process on how these project concepts can be
placed in the IRENA’s Virtual Market Place for Renewable Energy Projects. The latter is ex-
plained in full below. This requires some skills and access to the virtual network. This will be
facilitated by IRENA and will require access to and use of software-based methodology. There-
fore, each participant will need to bring a computer to the meeting for this exercise.
The third aim of the workshop is to introduce the project developers to the array of the modali-
ties of African-based renewable energy initiatives. The latter support the development of renew-
able energies, particularly bioenergy technology development. The support that is expected is the
areas of (a) project packaging, (b) support with the enabling environment, (c) project finance and
investment requirements, and (d) match-making.
4 Workshop Programming
The workshop will take place over 3.5 days. The first day of the workshop will be devoted to the
introductory remarks (early morning) as well as the presentation of all the identified project con-
cepts. The second day of the workshop will be focussed on each project developers learning on
how to put their projects on market place. The third of the workshop will be an interactive pro-
cess between the project developers (at country levels) as well as representatives of the targeted
initiatives. This will be a facilitative process that will take place in small group according to the
project categorisation. The last half day of the workshop will be focussed on plenary and will
highlight roadmaps for project packaging and finance based on the outcomes of the small group
meetings (on 3rd
day). The provisional programme of work is as follows:
Morning Afternoon
DAY 1 • Opening statements (AUC, NPCA, ECA)
• Workshop objectives & process
• Presentation of the Market Place
(IRENA)
Presentations of Projects
• Enabling environment
• Capacity Building & Awareness Raising
• Bioenergy project developers
DAY 2 Presentations of current initiatives
• Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
• Climate Investment Fund
• Green Africa Power
• Renewable Energy Performance Platform
• African Renewable Energy Initiative
• European Union-Africa Energy Partner-
ship
Interactive process between project devel-
opers & initiatives
• Modalities and conditions for support
• Gap analysis and areas of support
• Roadmap and way forwards for support
Page 18
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
6
DAY 3 Roadmapping
• Workshop Summary (highlights)
• Presentation of the roadmaps
• Action Plans
• Formal Closure
5 The Projects Pipeline Sample: 2015 Outcomes of the DA Project
The following project concepts were received as an outcome of the ECA-AUC-NEPAD project
cited above. This workshop will aim to refine these concepts as well as providing individual
roadmap on their further development:
Project Title Country Project Champion
1. A study of the roles of growers in biofuel value chain Harare, Zimba-
bwe
Mr. Aleck Gubba, Director – Minis-
try of Energy and Power
([email protected] )
2. Scaling up the production of biodiesel in Botswana Gaborone, Bot-
swana
Mr. Boiki Mabowe, Chief Executive
Officer, Biodiesel Botswana
([email protected] )
3. Biofuels development strategy to reduce reliance on
imported petroleum, especially for households and
transport use
Maseru, Leso-
tho
Mrs. Palesa Malataliana - Depart-
ment of Energy
([email protected] )
4. Innovative capacity building and awareness for key
stakeholders in the development of biofuels in Bot-
swana
Gaborone, Bot-
swana
Mrs. Nozipho Wright – Private Con-
sultant ([email protected] )
5. Raising awareness on modern biofuels as an im-
portant energy source in Zimbabwe
Harare, Zimba-
bwe
Mrs. Abigail T. Magugu, Director,
Women and Resources in Eastern
and Southern Africa
([email protected] )
6. Assistance in the development of implementation
strategy for biofuel development in Malawi
Blantyre, Ma-
lawi
Mr. Joseph Kalowekamo, Director,
Renewables – Ministry of Energy
([email protected]
7. Rural development project for production of 8,000
Litres of ethanol per day to supply households &
transport in the Southern Africa
Pretoria, South
Africa
Ms. Fikile Hlatshwayo, FH Renew-
able Energy Solutions Pty Ltd
([email protected] )
8. Biofuels target setting and regional harmonization of Mbabane, Swa- Mrs. Candy Stromvig, Ministry of
Natural Resources & Energy
Page 19
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
7
Swaziland biofuels standards ziland ([email protected] )
9. Study on how Mauritius could develop strategies for
uptake of ethanol for the transport sector.
Port Louis,
Mauritius
Mr. Hemant Multra, Ministry of
Energy and Public Utilities (EEMO)
([email protected] )
10. Communication strategy for all stakeholders in the
biofuels sphere in Lesotho
Maseru, Leso-
tho
Ms. Makhosi Makhobalo, Private
Consultant
([email protected] )
11. Financing options for bagasse energy co-generation
potential in Zambia
Lusaka, Zambia Mr. Shadreck Saili, Zambian Devel-
opment Agency
([email protected] )
12. Feasibility and viability for uptake of biofuel blend-
ing commercially and development of sustainable
clean cookstove programme in Swaziland
Manzini, Swa-
ziland
Mr. Thembinkosi Ndzimandze, Min-
istry of Natural Resources & Energy
([email protected] )
13. Biofuels value-chain promotion & development pro-
ject to enhance Ethiopia’s efficient, resilient & sus-
tainable energy.
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Mr. Dereje Worknhe, Biofuels Di-
rectorate, Ministry of Water, Irriga-
tion & Energy
([email protected] .
14. Promotion of modern biofuels for transport and
household sectors through information awareness in
Tanzania
Dar-es-Salam,
Tanzania
Eng. Estomih Sawe, Director,
TaTEDO,
15. Improved cookstoves promotion though local tech-
nology adaptation, innovation and marketing
Dar-es-Salam,
Tanzania
Eng. Estomih Sawe, Director,
TaTEDO
16. Mainstreaming biofuels in the policy, promotion of
Jatropha and oil palm kernel and creation of jobs for
marginalized groups in Burundi
Bujumbura,
Burundi
Mr. Jean-Marie Nibizi, Director
SHINE ([email protected] )
17. Promotion of energy conservation & reduced defor-
estation through gender sensitive awareness creation
and adaptation of energy efficient locally produced
improved cookstoves usage 2016-2019.
Kampala,
Uganda
Mr. Desmond Tutu Opio, Uganda
Energy Credit Capitalization Com-
pany ([email protected] )
18. Mechanization of Cassava Production for Enhanced
Food and Energy Security and Bioenergy Feedstock
Production in Ghana
Accra, Ghana Mrs. Gifty Tettey
[email protected]
19. Development of locally fabricated biomass gasifica-
tion units for efficient thermal applications in Ugan-
da
Kampala,
Uganda,
Shira Bayigga Mukiibi
[email protected] ; shi-
[email protected]
20. Scaling up the production of ethanol and technolo- Antananarivo, Dina Anjaraniana Razafimahatratra
Page 20
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
8
gies for cooking Madagascar & Ando Rakoto
[email protected]
[email protected]
6 Linking with Relevant Renewable Energy Initiatives
The workshop will be engaging the support of the existing project support that have footprint in
Africa. It is expected that these identified initiatives will give further impetus and on-going sup-
port in refinement, packaging and fund mobilisation for the projects post bioenergy energy pro-
ject development workshop. Such support and further engagement will be monitored over time to
track impact as well as lesson learned.
a) Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
Established in 2011, SEFA is a USD 95 million Multi-Donor Trust Fund – managed by
the African Development Bank, and assists African Nations and Private Entrepreneur’s
unlocking investments in sustainable energy. The Fund supports the following:
Project Preparation
Window
Enabling Environment
Window
Equity Investment
Window
Scope • Preparation support
to RE and EE Pro-
jects
• Total Costs USD 30
– 200 million]
• Beneficiaries: Pri-
vate Companies
• Enabling Environ-
ment Support
• Beneficiaries: Gov-
ernments and Na-
tional entities
• Seed/growth capital
for RE and EE pro-
jects [USD 10-80
million]
• Beneficiaries: Pri-
vate Companies
Financing Instrument • Non-reimbursable
grants
• Non reimbursable
grants for technical
assistance and ca-
pacity building
• Equity and reim-
bursable grants for
project preparation
Activities • Preparation activi-
ties from Origina-
tion to Financial
Close
• Capacity Building
and Advisory, Poli-
cy and Regulatory
Development, Mar-
ket Development
and Preparation
• Preparation Activi-
ties (TA component)
• Investment Capital
b) IRENA Sustainable Energy Market Place
As part of the IRENA’s objective to sustain and facilitate the spread of renewable energy
technologies, IRENA has implemented a virtual “Market Place” for renewable energy
Page 21
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
9
projects. The Sustainable Energy Market Place is a free platform for project owner, gov-
ernments, financiers, and service and technology providers to help develop and drive in-
vestments to new renewable energy projects.
The objective of the virtual market place is accelerate the scale-up investments – both
public and private – to promote initiation, development and financing of low carbon re-
newable energy projects by bringing together project owners, governments, financiers
and service and technology providers. It makes investment opportunities visible and easi-
ly identifiable for investors and helps project developers to identify relevant funding
sources and expertise:
• Search information of interests like projects with certain investment area, financing
sources, or advisors according to specific needs of the project; and
• Find information about and contact relevant entities, projects or financing instru-
ments.
c) Climate Investment Fund
The main purpose of the Climate Investment Fund is to pilot and demonstrate the eco-
nomic, social and environmental viability of low carbon development pathways in the
energy sector by creating new economic opportunities and increasing energy access
through the use of renewable energy. It is a USD 8.1 billion investment from the African
Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank (EB), In-
ter-American Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank (WB). One of the sub-
programmes of is a USD 796 million “Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme”
(SREP), which is piloted in several African countries including Madagascar, Malawi,
Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia.
It mainly provides investments in the form of grant and credit to eligible projects that are
less than 10 MW in solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, and small hydro; electricity and
thermal; and off-grid and mini grids. It also provides grants towards capacity building
and advisory services to governments for the (a) development of energy policies and leg-
islation; (b) assessment of technical resources potential; (c) strengthening governance
and institutional capacity; and (d) creation of incentive scheme to improve financial via-
bility of RETs.
d) Green Africa Power
This Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) facility offers quasi-equity debt
and contingent lines of credit. The total facility size is USD 200 million. It receives funds
Page 22
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
10
from the UK Department for International Development (DFID), UK Department for En-
ergy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Government of Norway. Its fund advisors are
Eiser Infrastructureand CAMCO Clean Energy. It focuses on advanced projects which
are struggling to reach financial close by providing mezzanine finance (subordinated
debt, quasi-equity debt); contingent lines of credit; long tenuresand funding not readily
available from commercial markets.
The mandate of the Green Africa Power is least developed countries, and covers a wide
range of renewable energy technologies. Most of these are utility-scale, grid-connected
projects. It provides later-stage project development support and attracts private sector fi-
nance.
e) Renewable Energy Performance Platform
This is an initiative of UNEP, European Investment Bank (EIB) and funded by the UK
Department of Energy and Climate Change, managed by CAMCO and GreenStream. The
initiative addresses key issues and barriers such as the limited sources of development fi-
nance; limited commercial viability of small-scale renewable energy projects (i.e. Level-
ised costs are not sustainable/equity returns are low); long-term debt (unavailability, high
pricing and short tenors); lack of access to risk mitigation instruments; and lack of tech-
nical know-how amongst small-scale developers.
The REPP mandate is on small-scale renewables based in least developed countries.
Nineteen African countries are target countries and also cover a wide range of renewable
energy technologies. REPP is developer-focused. It also aims to unlocking private sector
finance.
It provides products, services and solutions such as technical assistance during develop-
ment (technical studiesLegal and due diligence costs); structuring support (financial
structuring, Facilitating access to risk mitigation instruments, and facilitating access to long-
term debt); results-based finance.
f) African Renewable Energy Initiative
The AREI wants to help Africa to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, enhanced
well-being and sound economic development by ensuring universal access to clean, ap-
propriate and affordable energy sources. Across the continents it hopes to achieve at least
300 GW of new and additional installed capacity with initial 10 GW by 2020. This
means increased (a) number of users connected to the national grids or new mini-grids;
(b) share of renewable energy consumption in productive sectors: agriculture, industry,
and services; and (c) share of local/African firms providing renewable equipment and
supply on the continent. The implementation timeline of the AREI is as follows:
Page 23
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
11
Establishment Phase Phase I (2016-2020) Phase II (2020-2020
Co
nti
nen
tal
Establishment of AREI
Delivery Unit and Trus-
tee Facility set up
• All core and crosscutting
work areas initiated
• Delivery unit fully opera-
tional
• Africa Energy Institute
established
• AREI Delivery Unit fur-
ther expanded
• Trustee Facility further
capacitated
• Most successful schemes
adopted and modified
across the continent
Su
b-r
egio
na
l
Consultations with
Sub-regional institu-
tions
• GCF obtained for cluster
of countries
• Sub-regional programs &
pilot efforts
• Sub-regional efforts &
programs further consol-
idated
Na
tio
na
l
Countries shaping for-
mally establishing
AREI
• Comprehensive polic-
es/programs in some coun-
tries
• Project support in many
countries
• Assessments, planning
studies & engagement in
all countries
• Comprehensive poli-
cies/programs & effec-
tive RE incentives
schemes in all countries
g) European Union-Africa Energy Partnership
The EU Energy Initiative – Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF) was founded in 2004
by several EU member states and the European Commission as a flexible instrument of the EU
Energy Initiative (EUEI). The EUEI PDF is currently funded by the European Commission, Aus-
tria, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. An integral part of our mandate is
the coordination of our activities with a variety of partners from the EU as well as regional and
international organisations. EUEI PDF works with partner countries and regions to develop poli-
cies and strategies that contribute to improved access to affordable and sustainable energy ser-
vices. Its activities focus on Africa, but also operate in other parts of the world, such as Southeast
Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific.
EUEI PDF’s goal is to support the creation of an enabling environment for investments in sus-
tainable energy markets in developing countries through (a) policy, regulation and strategy de-
velopment; (b) institutional building and strengthening; (c) private sector cooperation; (d) ca-
pacity development; and (e) knowledge sharing.
Page 24
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
12
7 Workshop Venue and Other Logistics
This workshop will take place at the African Union Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa.
The dates for the workshops are 26-28 October 2016. An Aide Memoire, which outlines useful
information about the logistics and other information, will be sent to confirmed participants.
Page 25
1
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Develop-
ment and Packaging
1 Background
The promotion of clean renewable energies (including clean cooking fuels and stoves, advanced
biomass cooking stoves and biogas systems, micro hydro projects and wind and solar initiatives)
is a pro-poor development strategy for Africa, which has a large share of rural population and is
highly vulnerable to climate change-induced calamities such as droughts. The energy poverty in
rural areas deprives communities of economic and social opportunities as they do not have ac-
cess to, or cannot afford, adequate energy services. Women are disproportionately affected by
the lack of energy, as they undertake the majority of household chores. In urban areas, some
communities lack access to electricity and experience frequent power cuts due to electricity defi-
cits. Unfortunately, many national and regional initiatives and programmes aimed at reducing
poverty have not adequately taken into account the pivotal role of energy in human activities.
As one of the world’s regions most vulnerable to climate change, should not Africa support
global climate change mitigation efforts? By and large, African countries have largely untapped
renewable energy potential, especially hydropower, geothermal energy, solar, wind power, and
biomass (the latter being used more inefficiently). The sub region must develop effective nation-
al policies on renewable energy and energy efficiency, and take advantage of opportunities for
technological leapfrogging, using, among others, the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development
Mechanism. There is a growing consensus that enhancing energy efficiency and promoting ac-
cess to clean and renewable energies are effective methods for mitigating climate change. Cost-
effective energy efficiency improvements and clean energy technologies are often self-financing
in favourable economic and regulatory conditions, and sub-Saharan Africa can learn from the
experience of countries, which have successfully promoted and implemented this approach.
Knowledge, policy and institutional capacity are currently insufficient to promote clean energy
and energy efficiency in Africa. In particular, the continent lacks an enabling environment for the
promotion of investment in the sector.
Page 26
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
2
In Africa, bioenergy constitutes an important source of energy, and would have even greater po-
tential if sustainably exploited. However its current exploitation is largely within unsustainable
systems with negative impacts on livelihoods in the areas of health, environment and social im-
pacts, including gender (ECA and AU 2014). Over 80% of the population in Africa depends on
solid fuels, primarily traditional biomass for cooking and heating, with related negative effects
such as respiratory diseases from indoor air pollution, and impacts on social outcomes as a result
of extensive time spent on firewood collection rather than on social and productive uses. Produc-
tion of charcoal is highly inefficient, thus contributing to deforestation, as does the inefficient use
of firewood and charcoal in applications such as brick firing and food processing (e.g. fish smok-
ing). Although bioenergy has many applications as a modern source of energy, high value bioen-
ergy application such as gasification, ethanol production, use of bagasse for electricity generation
and others are not fully exploited in Africa. In addition to providing energy for enabling econom-
ic and social activities, bioenergy can also reduce the import burden imposed by imported fossil
fuels. However, even in its modern form, bioenergy exploitation can have unintended negative
consequences if not well managed. Large-scale biofuels production and its associated mono
cropping can reduce biodiversity and disturb ecosystems. The acquisition of land for biofuel pro-
duction can also reduce food security as well as deprive rural people of the one asset they nor-
mally depend on: land. Biodiversity and food security effects of unsustainable bio-energy exploi-
tation can have wider effects across local areas as well as countries and lead to conflict.
There is therefore a huge biofuel potential in Africa. However, such potential is not adequately
harnessed and Africa is losing out on this competitive advantage. There are many barriers against
successful and widespread exploitation of this renewable energy source on the continent, includ-
ing ineffective supporting policy (and associated regulations and legislations) and lack of finan-
cial support. On the whole Africa does not have a coordinated approach towards biofuels devel-
opment, although some RECs and a few countries have begun to address this.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in partnership with the African Union Commission
(AUC) and NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) implementing a project which
promotes modern biofuels development in Africa, particularly providing policy and regulatory
support. The project activities should lead to (a) an establishment of harmonized financial, insti-
tutional and policy frameworks for the promotion of biofuels mainly for household and transport
end uses in Africa; (b) an enhanced capacity of African countries to formulate and implement
gender sensitive policies and programmes on biofuel development; and (c) an improved capacity
of African countries, particularly project developers, to package biofuels projects for investment.
This project is implemented to support the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All
(SE4ALL) initiative and the AUC Bioenergy Policy Framework and Guidelines. The latter,
which was endorsed by the African heads of state and government in January 2013, (a) builds
consensus on shared framework that inspires and provides guidance to individual African coun-
tries and regions in developing bioenergy policies and regulations; and (b) enhances awareness
Page 27
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
3
among African policymakers and civil society on the need for environmentally friendly and so-
cially acceptable bioenergy development policies.
The overall objective of the project is to build the capacity in order to promote the production
and usage of biofuels, as well as to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction. The
main activities of the project are as follows:
• Case studies on the experience of enabling policies and regulatory reforms that facilitate
the adoption of the biofuels technologies.
• Regional capacity building workshops based on case studies to share the lessons learned,
and link these lessons to local context and experience.
• Guidelines, training materials and manuals, model agreements and standards for creating
a harmonized enabling environment for uptake of biofuels in Africa.
• Regional Training workshops on: (a) policy and regulations; (b) establishing the national
systems of innovation (linking R&D to industrial policy); (c) biofuels standards; (d) bio-
fuels project development; and contract negotiation (financing).
• Providing specific and demand-driven technical assistance to identified countries on how
they can develop and modernise the biofuel sector in order to generate modern electricity,
heat energy, and/or transport fuels.
•Baseline studies on
bioenergy development
•Bioenergy Framework &
Policy Guidines (endorced by
CEMA)
2011-12
•Bioenergy Resolution
adopted by AU Assembly
•Mainstreaming of
Framework incl. gender
2013-14 •Capacity Bulding Workshops
on best practices
•Technical training on biofuels
projects (and ID of projects
•Project development and
aackaging
2015-16
Page 28
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
4
The promotion of clean renewable energies is a pro-poor development strategy for Africa, which
has a large share of rural population and is highly vulnerable to climate change-induced calami-
ties such as droughts. The energy poverty in rural areas deprives communities of economic and
social opportunities as they do not have access to, or cannot afford, adequate energy services.
Women are disproportionately affected by the lack of energy, as they undertake the majority of
household chores. One of the most effective ways of addressing energy poverty, particularly in
underdeveloped areas in Africa, as well as facilitating or unlocking economics development is to
develop a modern biofuels sector.
The indicator of a successful implementation of this project will be the number of countries that,
as a result of the activities above, have embarked on implementing policies, measures and ac-
tions (PAMs) to modernise the biofuels sector. In addition, and more poignantly, it will be the
number of projects that have been designed and ready for funding. Therefore, the commitment
from government ministries/departments in charge of energy, local project developers (or private
sector) and NGOs will be essential if the expected accomplishments are to be achieved.
2 Expected Accomplishment of the Workshop
However, due to diverse limitations, the modern bioenergy industry is heavily underdeveloped in
Africa. Some of the limitations could be, inter alia, attributed to the following factors: (i) lack of
bankable bioenergy projects;(ii) misinformation on the impact of bioenergy, particularly biofuels
on food security; (iii) lack of reliable information packages on the bioenergy industry and its po-
tential contribution to African development; (iv) weakness or absence of policy and regulatory
frameworks that guide bioenergy development; (iii) weak bioenergy development and implemen-
tation strategies; and (iv) underdeveloped bioenergy market and lack of financial resources.
Therefore, the workshop is expected to devise a detailed, implementable bioenergy roadmap, as
well as timelines. It is expected that this roadmap will be monitored in order to determine the
impact and elucidate lessons learnt for capacity building.
3 Aims of the Workshop
The purpose of this workshop is threefold. The first aim is to recap on the outcomes of the 2015
joint ECA-AUC-NPCA project on bioenergy development for the transport and household sec-
tors. In particular, this will recap the major outcome of this intervention: development of pipeline
projects by African policy and local project developers. These projects are the outcome an inten-
sive process of capacity building based on selected case studies in South Africa, Mauritius, Ken-
ya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and Senegal, as well as biofuels training (on policy and reg-
ulatory issues, standards, project development and contract negotiation).
Page 29
Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
5
The second aim of the workshop is an interactive process on how these project concepts can be
placed in the IRENA’s Virtual Market Place for Renewable Energy Projects. The latter is ex-
plained in full below. This requires some skills and access to the virtual network. This will be
facilitated by IRENA and will require access to and use of software-based methodology. There-
fore, each participant will need to bring a computer to the meeting for this exercise.
The third aim of the workshop is to introduce the project developers to the array of the modali-
ties of African-based renewable energy initiatives. The latter support the development of renew-
able energies, particularly bioenergy technology development. The support that is expected is the
areas of (a) project packaging, (b) support with the enabling environment, (c) project finance and
investment requirements, and (d) match-making.
4 Workshop Programming
The workshop will take place over 3.5 days. The first day of the workshop will be devoted to the
introductory remarks (early morning) as well as the presentation of all the identified project con-
cepts. The second day of the workshop will be focussed on each project developers learning on
how to put their projects on market place. The third of the workshop will be an interactive pro-
cess between the project developers (at country levels) as well as representatives of the targeted
initiatives. This will be a facilitative process that will take place in small group according to the
project categorisation. The last half day of the workshop will be focussed on plenary and will
highlight roadmaps for project packaging and finance based on the outcomes of the small group
meetings (on 3rd
day). The provisional programme of work is as follows:
Morning Afternoon
DAY 1 • Opening statements (AUC, NPCA, ECA)
• Workshop objectives & process
• Presentation of the Market Place
(IRENA)
Presentations of Projects
• Enabling environment
• Capacity Building & Awareness Raising
• Bioenergy project developers
DAY 2 Presentations of current initiatives
• Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
• Climate Investment Fund
• Green Africa Power
• Renewable Energy Performance Platform
• African Renewable Energy Initiative
• European Union-Africa Energy Partner-
ship
Interactive process between project devel-
opers & initiatives
• Modalities and conditions for support
• Gap analysis and areas of support
• Roadmap and way forwards for support
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
6
DAY 3 Roadmapping
• Workshop Summary (highlights)
• Presentation of the roadmaps
• Action Plans
• Formal Closure
5 The Projects Pipeline Sample: 2015 Outcomes of the DA Project
The following project concepts were received as an outcome of the ECA-AUC-NEPAD project
cited above. This workshop will aim to refine these concepts as well as providing individual
roadmap on their further development:
Project Title Country Project Champion
1. A study of the roles of growers in biofuel value chain Harare, Zimba-
bwe
Mr. Aleck Gubba, Director – Minis-
try of Energy and Power
([email protected] )
2. Scaling up the production of biodiesel in Botswana Gaborone, Bot-
swana
Mr. Boiki Mabowe, Chief Executive
Officer, Biodiesel Botswana
([email protected] )
3. Biofuels development strategy to reduce reliance on
imported petroleum, especially for households and
transport use
Maseru, Leso-
tho
Mrs. Palesa Malataliana - Depart-
ment of Energy
([email protected] )
4. Innovative capacity building and awareness for key
stakeholders in the development of biofuels in Bot-
swana
Gaborone, Bot-
swana
Mrs. Nozipho Wright – Private Con-
sultant ([email protected] )
5. Raising awareness on modern biofuels as an im-
portant energy source in Zimbabwe
Harare, Zimba-
bwe
Mrs. Abigail T. Magugu, Director,
Women and Resources in Eastern
and Southern Africa
([email protected] )
6. Assistance in the development of implementation
strategy for biofuel development in Malawi
Blantyre, Ma-
lawi
Mr. Joseph Kalowekamo, Director,
Renewables – Ministry of Energy
([email protected]
7. Rural development project for production of 8,000
Litres of ethanol per day to supply households &
transport in the Southern Africa
Pretoria, South
Africa
Ms. Fikile Hlatshwayo, FH Renew-
able Energy Solutions Pty Ltd
([email protected] )
8. Biofuels target setting and regional harmonization of Mbabane, Swa- Mrs. Candy Stromvig, Ministry of
Natural Resources & Energy
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
7
Swaziland biofuels standards ziland ([email protected] )
9. Study on how Mauritius could develop strategies for
uptake of ethanol for the transport sector.
Port Louis,
Mauritius
Mr. Hemant Multra, Ministry of
Energy and Public Utilities (EEMO)
([email protected] )
10. Communication strategy for all stakeholders in the
biofuels sphere in Lesotho
Maseru, Leso-
tho
Ms. Makhosi Makhobalo, Private
Consultant
([email protected] )
11. Financing options for bagasse energy co-generation
potential in Zambia
Lusaka, Zambia Mr. Shadreck Saili, Zambian Devel-
opment Agency
([email protected] )
12. Feasibility and viability for uptake of biofuel blend-
ing commercially and development of sustainable
clean cookstove programme in Swaziland
Manzini, Swa-
ziland
Mr. Thembinkosi Ndzimandze, Min-
istry of Natural Resources & Energy
([email protected] )
13. Biofuels value-chain promotion & development pro-
ject to enhance Ethiopia’s efficient, resilient & sus-
tainable energy.
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Mr. Dereje Worknhe, Biofuels Di-
rectorate, Ministry of Water, Irriga-
tion & Energy
([email protected] .
14. Promotion of modern biofuels for transport and
household sectors through information awareness in
Tanzania
Dar-es-Salam,
Tanzania
Eng. Estomih Sawe, Director,
TaTEDO,
15. Improved cookstoves promotion though local tech-
nology adaptation, innovation and marketing
Dar-es-Salam,
Tanzania
Eng. Estomih Sawe, Director,
TaTEDO
16. Mainstreaming biofuels in the policy, promotion of
Jatropha and oil palm kernel and creation of jobs for
marginalized groups in Burundi
Bujumbura,
Burundi
Mr. Jean-Marie Nibizi, Director
SHINE ([email protected] )
17. Promotion of energy conservation & reduced defor-
estation through gender sensitive awareness creation
and adaptation of energy efficient locally produced
improved cookstoves usage 2016-2019.
Kampala,
Uganda
Mr. Desmond Tutu Opio, Uganda
Energy Credit Capitalization Com-
pany ([email protected] )
18. Mechanization of Cassava Production for Enhanced
Food and Energy Security and Bioenergy Feedstock
Production in Ghana
Accra, Ghana Mrs. Gifty Tettey
[email protected]
19. Development of locally fabricated biomass gasifica-
tion units for efficient thermal applications in Ugan-
da
Kampala,
Uganda,
Shira Bayigga Mukiibi
[email protected] ; shi-
[email protected]
20. Scaling up the production of ethanol and technolo- Antananarivo, Dina Anjaraniana Razafimahatratra
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
8
gies for cooking Madagascar & Ando Rakoto
[email protected]
[email protected]
6 Linking with Relevant Renewable Energy Initiatives
The workshop will be engaging the support of the existing project support that have footprint in
Africa. It is expected that these identified initiatives will give further impetus and on-going sup-
port in refinement, packaging and fund mobilisation for the projects post bioenergy energy pro-
ject development workshop. Such support and further engagement will be monitored over time to
track impact as well as lesson learned.
a) Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
Established in 2011, SEFA is a USD 95 million Multi-Donor Trust Fund – managed by
the African Development Bank, and assists African Nations and Private Entrepreneur’s
unlocking investments in sustainable energy. The Fund supports the following:
Project Preparation
Window
Enabling Environment
Window
Equity Investment
Window
Scope • Preparation support
to RE and EE Pro-
jects
• Total Costs USD 30
– 200 million]
• Beneficiaries: Pri-
vate Companies
• Enabling Environ-
ment Support
• Beneficiaries: Gov-
ernments and Na-
tional entities
• Seed/growth capital
for RE and EE pro-
jects [USD 10-80
million]
• Beneficiaries: Pri-
vate Companies
Financing Instrument • Non-reimbursable
grants
• Non reimbursable
grants for technical
assistance and ca-
pacity building
• Equity and reim-
bursable grants for
project preparation
Activities • Preparation activi-
ties from Origina-
tion to Financial
Close
• Capacity Building
and Advisory, Poli-
cy and Regulatory
Development, Mar-
ket Development
and Preparation
• Preparation Activi-
ties (TA component)
• Investment Capital
b) IRENA Sustainable Energy Market Place
As part of the IRENA’s objective to sustain and facilitate the spread of renewable energy
technologies, IRENA has implemented a virtual “Market Place” for renewable energy
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
9
projects. The Sustainable Energy Market Place is a free platform for project owner, gov-
ernments, financiers, and service and technology providers to help develop and drive in-
vestments to new renewable energy projects.
The objective of the virtual market place is accelerate the scale-up investments – both
public and private – to promote initiation, development and financing of low carbon re-
newable energy projects by bringing together project owners, governments, financiers
and service and technology providers. It makes investment opportunities visible and easi-
ly identifiable for investors and helps project developers to identify relevant funding
sources and expertise:
• Search information of interests like projects with certain investment area, financing
sources, or advisors according to specific needs of the project; and
• Find information about and contact relevant entities, projects or financing instru-
ments.
c) Climate Investment Fund
The main purpose of the Climate Investment Fund is to pilot and demonstrate the eco-
nomic, social and environmental viability of low carbon development pathways in the
energy sector by creating new economic opportunities and increasing energy access
through the use of renewable energy. It is a USD 8.1 billion investment from the African
Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank (EB), In-
ter-American Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank (WB). One of the sub-
programmes of is a USD 796 million “Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme”
(SREP), which is piloted in several African countries including Madagascar, Malawi,
Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia.
It mainly provides investments in the form of grant and credit to eligible projects that are
less than 10 MW in solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, and small hydro; electricity and
thermal; and off-grid and mini grids. It also provides grants towards capacity building
and advisory services to governments for the (a) development of energy policies and leg-
islation; (b) assessment of technical resources potential; (c) strengthening governance
and institutional capacity; and (d) creation of incentive scheme to improve financial via-
bility of RETs.
d) Green Africa Power
This Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) facility offers quasi-equity debt
and contingent lines of credit. The total facility size is USD 200 million. It receives funds
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
10
from the UK Department for International Development (DFID), UK Department for En-
ergy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Government of Norway. Its fund advisors are
Eiser Infrastructureand CAMCO Clean Energy. It focuses on advanced projects which
are struggling to reach financial close by providing mezzanine finance (subordinated
debt, quasi-equity debt); contingent lines of credit; long tenuresand funding not readily
available from commercial markets.
The mandate of the Green Africa Power is least developed countries, and covers a wide
range of renewable energy technologies. Most of these are utility-scale, grid-connected
projects. It provides later-stage project development support and attracts private sector fi-
nance.
e) Renewable Energy Performance Platform
This is an initiative of UNEP, European Investment Bank (EIB) and funded by the UK
Department of Energy and Climate Change, managed by CAMCO and GreenStream. The
initiative addresses key issues and barriers such as the limited sources of development fi-
nance; limited commercial viability of small-scale renewable energy projects (i.e. Level-
ised costs are not sustainable/equity returns are low); long-term debt (unavailability, high
pricing and short tenors); lack of access to risk mitigation instruments; and lack of tech-
nical know-how amongst small-scale developers.
The REPP mandate is on small-scale renewables based in least developed countries.
Nineteen African countries are target countries and also cover a wide range of renewable
energy technologies. REPP is developer-focused. It also aims to unlocking private sector
finance.
It provides products, services and solutions such as technical assistance during develop-
ment (technical studiesLegal and due diligence costs); structuring support (financial
structuring, Facilitating access to risk mitigation instruments, and facilitating access to long-
term debt); results-based finance.
f) African Renewable Energy Initiative
The AREI wants to help Africa to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, enhanced
well-being and sound economic development by ensuring universal access to clean, ap-
propriate and affordable energy sources. Across the continents it hopes to achieve at least
300 GW of new and additional installed capacity with initial 10 GW by 2020. This
means increased (a) number of users connected to the national grids or new mini-grids;
(b) share of renewable energy consumption in productive sectors: agriculture, industry,
and services; and (c) share of local/African firms providing renewable equipment and
supply on the continent. The implementation timeline of the AREI is as follows:
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
11
Establishment Phase Phase I (2016-2020) Phase II (2020-2020
Co
nti
nen
tal
Establishment of AREI
Delivery Unit and Trus-
tee Facility set up
• All core and crosscutting
work areas initiated
• Delivery unit fully opera-
tional
• Africa Energy Institute
established
• AREI Delivery Unit fur-
ther expanded
• Trustee Facility further
capacitated
• Most successful schemes
adopted and modified
across the continent
Su
b-r
egio
na
l
Consultations with
Sub-regional institu-
tions
• GCF obtained for cluster
of countries
• Sub-regional programs &
pilot efforts
• Sub-regional efforts &
programs further consol-
idated
Na
tio
na
l
Countries shaping for-
mally establishing
AREI
• Comprehensive polic-
es/programs in some coun-
tries
• Project support in many
countries
• Assessments, planning
studies & engagement in
all countries
• Comprehensive poli-
cies/programs & effec-
tive RE incentives
schemes in all countries
g) European Union-Africa Energy Partnership
The EU Energy Initiative – Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF) was founded in 2004
by several EU member states and the European Commission as a flexible instrument of the EU
Energy Initiative (EUEI). The EUEI PDF is currently funded by the European Commission, Aus-
tria, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. An integral part of our mandate is
the coordination of our activities with a variety of partners from the EU as well as regional and
international organisations. EUEI PDF works with partner countries and regions to develop poli-
cies and strategies that contribute to improved access to affordable and sustainable energy ser-
vices. Its activities focus on Africa, but also operate in other parts of the world, such as Southeast
Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific.
EUEI PDF’s goal is to support the creation of an enabling environment for investments in sus-
tainable energy markets in developing countries through (a) policy, regulation and strategy de-
velopment; (b) institutional building and strengthening; (c) private sector cooperation; (d) ca-
pacity development; and (e) knowledge sharing.
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Workshop on Bioenergy Project Development and Packaging
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7 Workshop Venue and Other Logistics
This workshop will take place at the African Union Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa.
The dates for the workshops are 26-28 October 2016. An Aide Memoire, which outlines useful
information about the logistics and other information, will be sent to confirmed participants.