Martina Schäfer, Noara Kebir, Daniel Philipp (editors) - TU Berlin

PROCEEDINGS Conference MPDES 2011
Based on the current program, 9 a key lesson learned is
that even though the P2IPDT program has had positive
impacts on rural society, its implementation needs
improvement. 10 One finding from monitoring that took
place during the program is that the use of renewable
energy will also contribute to the government’s goals of
reducing kerosene use for lighting and increasing rural
income generation. A second lesson learned is the need
for capacity building of local organizations, particularly in
project management skills, from the preparation through
the maintenance phase. The key success factor that is
essential to the local community having a sense of true
ownership of the energy infrastructure and services is to
involve them from the very beginning. One important step
is to hold public discussions on the location of new public
facilities 11 as well as the amount of the monthly fee for
facility maintenance, seeking agreement with the relevant
CBO committee. Trainings and capacity building
programs are very much required to improve the
performance.
From the Philippine experience, one of the initial
lessons learned in applying the SSMP 12 concept is the
need to ensure the affordability of household systems.
Another lesson learned is to ensure that market
development support systems are in place and
functioning. Furthermore, contractors should have their
own quality assurance systems, such that if quality
problems should arise, the company covers the costs of
return verification visits. Furthermore, the Philippines’
experience shows that the market development component
should focus on expanding capacities that enable the
private sector to set up businesses in rural areas. There can
be extremely high costs associated with operating in
remote areas with limited infrastructure. These costs are
the main barrier, even though sometimes the purchasing
power in remote areas is sufficient to obtain SHS on a
credit basis. Consequently, in addition to the subsidy
project, “Empowering the Poor through Increasing Access to
Energy.” Meanwhile, GIZ in February 2011 sent a letter to the
Bureau for National Development Planning (Bappenas) and
KPDT, offering significant amounts in soft loans and grants for
Technical Assistance, which might also be utilized to implement
this project concept.
9 Presentation of Dr. Siswa Trihadi, Deputy Assistant for
Infrastructure Energy, Ministry of Development for
Disadvantaged Regions, 2010.
10 The critical improvement that requires immediate action is
system maintenance. A field trip conducted by ADB and KPDT
in Garut, West Java, in February 2011 found that the centralized
PV, which is supposed to be able to provide lighting for 30
households for a minimum of 6 hours per day, can actually only
provide lighting for 2-3 hours per day. Two years after
installation, no institution has taken action to remedy the low
level of service. The main barriers are limited funding and lack
of coordination between the local government, CBO and the
company.
11 There are often villagers willing to donate their land or area
as the new site for a public facility because they are grateful to
have such equipment and services provided in their village.
12 The SSMP concept was implemented in the Philippines in
2007 as part of the Rural Power Project. A key challenge has
been the technical implementation, which still needs to be
improved.
incentive for private sector investment in rural areas,
assistance for continual business coaching is required that
provides companies with advice on how to sustain the
solar PV business in less developed or disadvantaged
villages. Moreover, suitable training on the technical
operation, on sales and marketing, and on basic office
management would be useful. A comparative study in
other regions would also be helpful to encourage and
provide further insight to all stakeholders on how to
continuously improve the project and ensure
sustainability.
Research demands
As the project moves from concept to application, initial
research will include identifying locations suitable for a
pilot project and further replication. The criteria include
the following points. For communal PV systems, the
selected locations must be in housing clusters. For SHS,
the selected houses should be scattered, not clustered. In
support of the KPDT mandate, the solar systems will also
be installed in regions classified as disadvantaged, conflict
vulnerable, and/or post disaster. The energy expenses for
lighting purpose is more or less is the same with the
monthly installment to purchase SHS on credit basis.
Also, research should consider the ability and willingness
to pay of villagers and the presence and possible roles of
small industries. Additional research questions should
address the appropriate technology options for this project
that are also consistent with the least cost principle and
any other renewable energy sources that are available in
the area.
A critical factor for successfully implementing the
concept in specific sites will be to define the role and level
of involvement of the local governments, particularly the
availability of co-financing within their budgets. It is
especially important to confirm the accessibility of
subsidies and grants, since the deployment of solar energy
systems will depend on the viability of the public facility.
After the facility funding is secure, the retail market
component may include additional subsidies to reduce the
Solar Home Systems price. The subsidy is designed to
make the SHS more affordable for the rural customer. The
price subsidy would ideally be provided by the local
government, since its constituents will benefit. Later on,
the study will determine which strategies to implement, as
well as recommendations for the service obligation
agreements, regulatory and tariff setting procedures, and
detailed manuals for implementation and operations.
Finally, it is critical to investigate further the capacity
building requirements at various levels of both central and
local government, as well as community based
organizations at the village level.
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