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Name of the project: |
Regional Contract for Project Design & Development and Capacity Building & Outreach under PHRD Grant of World Bank for Biomass for Sustainable Development Grant |
Program Area: |
E&E |
Country: |
India |
Project Length: |
June 2007 – June 2009 |
Sponsor: |
MNRE |
Contact: |
sobhan@winrockindia.org |
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| Background |
| In the context of a developing country like India, apart from addressing environmental concerns and improving the overall quality of life, access to energy for a vast majority of the rural population can act as a means for improving their livelihood opportunities and social evolution; enable them to have control over water for irrigation and start income generating activities, both of which lead to food security and income enhancement and hence poverty reduction. Realizing the role that clean sources of energy can play in the economic development and hence improving the overall quality of life in rural areas, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has launched the Village Energy Security Programme (VESP) with the objective of meeting the overall energy needs of remote villages in the country to which extension of the grid would not be economically viable. Due to local availability and manageability, the focus is on biomass resources, including bio-fuels. VESP is currently in its pilot phase, in which various models are being experimented including a range of technologies to using Village Energy Committees (VECs)/NGOs/entrepreneurs for the implementation, operation and maintenance. |
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| Objectives |
| Against the above background, the World Bank has extended support to the pilot phase of VESP for technical assistance and capacity building activities. The support is specifically aimed at identifying and testing scaleable models for designing and implementing community-driven programs for meeting comprehensive village energy needs. As part of this capacity building initiative, WII has been supported by World Bank/MNRE to: |
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- Build the capacity of and provide technical assistance to various stakeholders involved in the sanctioned projects
- Provide technical assistance at different stages of the project cycles to various stakeholders involved in the new projects.
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| Activities |
| Various activities were undertaken to meet the above objectives. As part of the first component, a capacity building needs assessment of various stakeholders was carried out. The project team designed the training modules, compiled/prepared the training material. The course material covered sections on technology assessment and sizing, institutional mechanisms, financial viability analysis, etc. Thereafter, six training programs were conducted. |
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| As part of the second component, i.e., providing technical assistance at different stages - preparatory, planning, implementation and post implementation phases - of the project cycles to various stakeholders involved in the new projects, WII, in consultation with the implementing and State Nodal Agencies (SNAs), identified villages/hamlets. Also social mobilization and community development was carried out after which VECs was formed and registered. After the VECs are formed, WII would prepare energy plans for each village and provide technical and social backstopping support to the implementing agencies during the implementation phase of these projects. |
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Achievements |
| In Orissa, WII closely worked with the implementing agencies (NGOs and Forest Department), Orissa Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) and village level stakeholders in building their capacity and making the implemented projects sustainable. It has already identified three new project sites in the state. In Andhra Pradesh, WII in association with Tribal Power Corporation (TRIPCO), Non-Conventional Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NEDCAP) and Indian Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) and has identified three new sites for the VESP projects. |
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