Development Projects

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Under 1000 kW installed capacity:

RforD Development Projects are small RE production units able to provide clean and reliable electricity services to usually several rural villages.

The main goal of development projects are rural poverty alleviation through local income generation and the rise of living standards. Both goals have excellent economic, social and environmental benefits on grassroots, national and global levels, such as creation of private-owned development infrastructure, business creation, health and education improvements, a halt to deforestation, and prevention of additional GHG emissions.

Development Projects are based on empowerment and implication of grassroots people that are at the same time producers, consumers and sellers of renewable energy. The needs of the rural poor are the main concern, and as the potential demand for electrification amounts to 2 billion people at present, 4 billion in 20 years, RforD has developed a model for large-scale replication and multiplication of RE production sites.

The model relies on specially created supporting institutional infrastructure at national or regional level in the form of focal points responsible for local project implementation.

Development Projects are based on empowerment and implication of grassroots people that are at the same time producers, consumers and sellers of renewable energy. The needs of the rural poor are the main concern, and as the potential demand for electrification amounts to 2 billion people at present, 4 billion in 20 years, RforD has developed a model for large-scale replication and multiplication of RE production sites. The model relies on specially created supporting institutional infrastructure at national or regional level in the form of focal points responsible for local project implementation.

RforD always prepares several projects in one region at the same time in order to save transaction and logistics cost. Moreover, bundling projects means increasing the total investment volume, thus opening the door for institutional investment.
Financing is separated into a non-commercial and a commercial part to minimize investment risk.

An example of the program’s potential: for an estimated cost of $ 40 million for project preparation, RforD can enable a commercialising program to supply electricity to 200 million people within 6 years.

Projects in the stage of preparation exist at present in the Philippines and in China. Please, contact us for more details.

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Project sample
Renewables for Development Project in the Philippines

Project data:

180 SHP stations to be set up under rural community ownership in off-grid areas of the Philippines.

1st year: Luzon area
Communities: 60 communities situated close to hydropower potential.
2nd year: Negros area
Communities: 60 communities situated close to hydropower potential.
3rd year: Mindanao area (if politically stable)
Communities: 60 communities situated close to hydropower potential.

Serving the overall objectives of poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation, the Renewables for Development model aims at building the framework for, and implementing thereafter, the creation of small hydropower production sites in poor rural off-grid areas, under local ownership, and their linkage to consumers able to pay for clean energy.

Only a financially and economically self sustaining rural electrification model with a high replication potential can have a significant impact both on combating rural poverty and global climate change. Therefore, our model focuses on:

• capacity building on national and grassroots levels to pass on our model, and prepare and train future owners of micro hydropower stations from poor rural communities for energy business development and management.
• elaborating bankable financing plans jointly with the interested future owners and consumers of energy, making extensive use of micro credits and export credits.
• construction phase financing of the micro hydropower station to be set up through commercial and semi-commercial loans.
• the retailer model with surplus energy sold to neighbouring communities via a mini-grid as income generating activity and as a way to repay loans.

Strong innovative points consist in:

• Commercial Viability through business creation and linkage to a market.
• Institutional sustainability through implication of all stakeholders.
• Replication/ multiplication through the snowball principle and repetitive cycles: the Philippines project for the first time makes use of supportive institutional infrastructure at the country level responsible for the grassroots implementation and immediate project site multiplication, as well as further large-scale replication.

For project information please contact: Ms. Katharina Krell