Manual on International Finance Mechanisms

A draft manual on International Financing Mechanisms under a project of MNES is currently being developed by Winrock International India and will soon be published. Specially developed for entrepreneurs, energy services companies, NGOs and government officials, the manual will contain details on international financing organizations and donors who have schemes and programs for financing renewable energy projects. The manual will also provide information on financing mechanisms for renewables through the Climate Change route and Global Environmental Facility (GEF). Please contact Energy and Environment for further information.

CREI Project Kick-off

Work on a project funded by the UN Foundation on commercializing renewable energy in India (CREI) and to be jointly implemented by Winrock International, Winrock International India and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, has begun. The project kick-off meeting was held on Dec 14, 2001, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (AP).

The three-year project is designed to generate local entrepreneurial capacity for sustained commercial operation of rural energy service companies (ESCOs) in five districts in southern AP. The project will link the commercialization of rural energy services with on-going efforts to promote sustainable rural livelihoods by developing and applying alternative models of rural renewable energy enterprises financing packages and service chain linkages involving local private sector entities, NGOs, technology suppliers, local development institutions, and financing institutions.

Anchored on the proven concept of enterprise assistance services coupled with financial facilitation, the CREI project team will utilize appropriate technologies and replicate approaches to enterprise development to help for-profit and not-for-profit entrepreneurs design, build, and sustain enterprises that harness renewable energy technologies (RETs) for productive use applications in the five key districts of AP. A set of six sequential, but overlapping, tasks will be undertaken to achieve the purpose and objectives of the project. They are i) market assessment, ii) identification of renewable energy enterprise opportunities, iii) enterprise assistance services, iv) facilitating access to finance, v) communications and outreach, and vi) monitoring and evaluation.

The coordinated participation of UNDESA and other UN agencies in the implementation of a replicable project model for sustainable energy development will internalize an effective system-wide approach to promote innovative market-driven renewable energy enterprises and programs worldwide.

RUPFOR presence at various workshops

The World Bank organized a two-day meeting on "Community Forest Management" at Manesar, on November 8-9, 2001. Sushil Saigal, Coordinator, RUPFOR, presented a paper on "Role of Decentralization in Forest Management". Contact Sushil for further information.

Sushil Saigal also attended a workshop on "community conserved areas" organized by Kalpvriksh and IIFM. He chaired "presentations and discussions from the Western region" and facilitated, along with K.C. Malhotra and Deep Narayan Pandey, the working group on "social and ecological impacts of community conservation, local, regional and national impacts, what CCAS has achieved and what they further intend to achieve." Contact Sushil for further information.

Mamta Borgoyary, Program Officer with RUPFOR, attended the one-day workshop organized by Development Alternatives to discuss what India has achieved so far in view of Agenda 21 (of the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development) and to discuss the agenda for the RIO plus Ten meeting to be held in Johannesburg in 2002. Mamta was one of the core members of the working group on "polity support". The report, based on the recommendation of the working groups, will be presented by the government at the RIO plus Ten. Contact Mamta for further information.

Eminent Panelists discus Sugar Industry at WII-CPU Organized Workshop on Advanced - Bagasse-based Cogeneration

Winrock International India (WII) is implementing the USAID's Greenhouse gas Pollution Prevention (GEP) - Alternate Bagasse Cogeneration (ABC) component in India. Nine sugar mills from the private sector have been selected and extended financial assistance (FA) as grants by USAID for setting up advanced bagasse cogeneration plants in India.

As part of the information dissemination/professional development activities of this project, WII organized a half-day workshop on "Advancing Bagasse-based Cogeneration" in association with the Council for Power Utilities (CPU) on November 24, 2001, at Hotel Hyatt Regency, New Delhi. The workshop was aimed at deliberating on issues and barriers such as financing, institutional mechanisms and policy concerning bagasse cogeneration promotion in India.

Mr Surya Sethi, Advisor, Planning Commission; Mr Padmanaban, Senior Energy & Environment Advisor, USAID; Dr Sai Gollakota, SAIC/USAID; and Dr Saroj Mishra, Senior Program Officer, WII, participated in the inaugural session.

The technical session contained detailed presentations on design and upgradation issues (by Avant Garde), policy perspectives (by CERC), financial issues (by IDBI), grid connectivity aspects (by UPPCL) and a case study presentation of Shamanur Sugars (by Mitcon).

Following the technical session, a panel discussion was organized, which was moderated by Mr Padmanaban, USAID. The panelists were Mr Surya Sethi, Planning Commission; Mr Y.K. Sethi, SIEL; Mr Shrivastava, CERC; Mr Majumdar, IREDA; and Mr Parameswaran, IREDA. The panel discussed issues concerning bagasse cogeneration and recommended strategies to resolve the barriers.