The Challenge of Low-Carbon Development - World Bank Internet ...

Appendix bWorld Bank Experience with Renewable Energy SurveysSurvey projects aim to reduce barriers to renewable energydevelopment by developing or collating spatial and temporaldata on wind speeds, water flows, sunshine hours, geothermalpotential, or biomass availability. These data, madefreely available, enable investors to select specific sites forthe more intensive local surveys needed to instigate specificprojects. Resource-based site selection can make a huge differenceto project viability. For instance, an InternationalFinance Corporation-financed geothermal plant performedpoorly because the steam resource was much weaker thanexpected. Exploration constitutes a large proportion of geothermalenergy costs, so a tool that increases the yield rateof exploratory drilling could boost profitability.The Bank has undertaken relatively few projects with significantrenewable resource survey components. Surveycomponents typically constitute a minor part of a muchlarger energy sector project—the component containingthe resource survey typically constitutes 1–5 percent of thetotal project spending, and this component often includestechnical assistance or capacity building that is not relatedto the resource survey.International Development Association/International Bankfor Reconstruction and Development or Global EnvironmentFacility (GEF) funding constitutes most or all of theresource survey financing. GEF financing has played a majorrole in all the surveys save Morocco. Of the surveys listedhere, only the Republic of Yemen and Armenia are complete.Data on survey impacts are not available.TAble b.1World bank and GeF Funding of Renewable energy Resource Survey projectsYear Country Resources Scale Componentcost($ millions)bank componentcontribution($ millions)2005 Yemen, Rep. of Wind National 1.00 1.002006 Mexico Wind National 4.27 3.902006 Lao PDR Biomass, micro-hydro National 1.70 1.702006 Armenia Hydro, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal National 3.65 3.002007 South Africa Solar, biomass, hydro. National 0.78 0.452008 Morocco Wind National 1.00 1.002008 Mexico Wind, hydro Unavailable 12.46 7.942008 Ghana Wind, biomass, micro-hydro National (biomass, hydro),3 specific sites (wind)1.96 1.74Total 25.82 20.73Source: IEG review of project documents.Appendix B: World Bank Experience with Renewable Energy Surveys | 97