GOC/WB/GEF

China Renewable Energy Scale Development Program Phase II

(CRESP II)

Terms of Reference

Development on Planning and Implementing Plan of Hefei New Energy Demonstration City

No. A4-CS-2016-016

CRESP PMO

November 2016

Development on Planning and Implementing Plan of Hefei New Energy Demonstration City

Terms of Reference

Project No. A4-CS-2016-016

General Background

The China Renewable Energy Scale-up Program (CRESP) has been developed by the Government of China (GOC) in cooperation with the World Bank (WB) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to provide assistance with the implementation of a renewable energy policy development and investment program.

During CRESP Phase I, GEF commission granted 40.22 million USD for mechanism development and capacity building, providing a good environment for China renewable energy scale-up development and technology support for renewable energy pilot projects in four provinces/autonomous region.

CRESP Phase II has been launched formally in June 2014 and is expected to be finished by the end of 2018. With the GEF grant of 27.28 million US dollars, the Phase II program aims to enable continued and sustainable scale-up development of commercial renewable energy through cost reduction, energy efficiency improvement and smooth integration to the grids, thereby contributing to government’s target of reduction in carbon intensity.

CRESP Phase II consists of 5 components as follows:

1. Renewable Energy Policy Support

2. Renewable Energy Grid Integration/Access and Technical Design

3. Renewable Energy Technology Improvement

4. Pilot Demonstration

5. Capacity Building and Investment Support

And in Pilot Demonstration, there are five parts:

  Inner Mongolia Renewable Energy Development Demonstration Region;

  Renewable Energy Power Consumption Pilot in Northeastern China;

  New Energy Demonstration City;

  Distributive Solar PV Demonstration Region;

  Green Energy County Pilot

This project is under New Energy Demonstration City.

National Energy Administration (NEA) has the overall responsibility for implementation of CRESP Phase II and has established a Project Management Office (PMO) to implement the program under their direction.

Special Background

As part of the pilot and demonstration of renewable energy, and under the leadership of the NEA, China Renewable Energy Scale-up Development Program Phase II will support the New Energy City Development Program (NECD) in China.

During the retrospective period of the CRESP Phase II, China National Renewable Energy Center (CNREC) undertook and implemented a study on new energy demonstration city concept upgrading project. According to the TOR of the project, the CNREC recommended piloting city candidates to the NEA. Through competitive bidding of the project proposals, the PMO organized an expert team to review and rank the proposals and selected Anhui Hefei and Hebei Zhangjiakou as piloting cities to be supported under the CRESP Phase II.

Being determined as one of the piloting cities, the Hefei municipality submitted to the NEA and the World Bank an overall plan for the NEDC project, which include: 1) A work plan for preparing the NECD in Hefei and implementation plan; 2) A study on innovative financing mechanisms for distributed PV power stations; 3) A research on the implementation of the market-oriented reform of the new energy market; 4) A study on operational modes for commercial solar PV charging service for electric vehicles; 5) A study on commercial operation of hybrid new energy integrated application system; 6) Capacity building and capacity updating activities for the Hefei new energy demonstration city project; and 7) new energy demonstration city database platform system design. The proposed seven activities have been accepted by the NEA and the World Bank.

Hefei is capital of Anhui Province. It is located in the central part of Anhui Province. It is also the political, economic, cultural, information, financial and business center of the province. Hefei is a sub-center city of the world-class urban agglomeration in the Yangtze River Delta, a national comprehensive transportation hub, an important national science and education base, and one of the new open-up economic centers in China. However Hefei is relatively lack of energy resources, with no oil and gas reserves, and short of electricity and coal. The city’s applicable renewable energy resources include solar energy, biomass, geothermal energy, and so on. In summary Hefei is a city that needs energy import from outside.

Therefore, the city of Hefei attaches great importance to new energy and renewable energy development. In June 2012, soon after the National Energy Administration "on applying for new energy demonstration cities and industrial parks" (NEA New Energy [2012] No. 156), the Hefei municipal government immediately started its proposal preparation. In October 2012, Hefei municipal government completed the "Hefei new energy demonstration city development plan" and the proposal submitted to the NEA. On January 8, 2014, in the NEA announced the first list of the NEDC candidates (see NEA New Energy [2014] No. 14), Hefei was successfully included the first list of NEDC projects. After a short period of 3 years, the new energy application in Hefei has achieved rapid development. The city’s new energy consumption share in the total energy consumption increased from 3.21% in 2011 to 6.90% in 2014.

To achieve the goals set for the thirteen’s five-year plan (2016-2020), unclear new energy development objectives, and lack of unified management systems as well as other problems and obstacles will affect the local economy in quantity and quality. Therefore, the previous NEDC program implementation experience must be well reviewed and the NEDC plans must be updated. Meanwhile the NEDC development plan must be renewed to clarify targets and responsibilities, in order to make sure the NEDC activities orderly undertaken and issues effectively addressed in the NEDC implementation, and finally targets fulfilled accordingly. The successful implementation of the piloting will provide demonstration for other NEDC cities.

Therefore, as part of the Hefei NEDC project, the CRESP second phase will support the “Development on Planning and Implementing the New Energy Demonstration City Program in Hefei” project.

Objective

Based on the infrastructure and status of new energy development in Hefei, as well as the existing problems and difficulties, this project is going to revise and upgrade of the targets and key tasks of defined in the previous "National New Energy Demonstration City Planning" in order for targeted project implementation proposal to clarify the RE development tasks for municipal agencies, and prefectures. The project will provide guidelines for the practical new energy demonstration city project for the periods to 2020 (revision to existing plan) and also to 2025 (future plan)

As capacity-building needs for new NEDC Planning are identified under this scope of work, they should be communicated and coordinated with the consultants working on the Capacity Building TOR for Hefei at the appropriate times. Further, all aspects of new NEDC Planning under this scope should be coordinated with the activities of consultants carrying out TORs for Local Renewable Energy Market-Oriented Reforms, and for Commercial New District Energy Systems, to the extent that those TORs address the same issues, and to the extent that activities under those TORs depend upon the results of the NEDC Planning. The consultant for this NEDC Planning TOR should be the lead consultant responsible for ensuring that this coordination and communication occurs with the consultants and activities under the Local Renewable Energy Market-Oriented Reforms and the Commercial New District Energy Systems TORs, in an effective manner.

Scope of work

PMO will select qualified consultant to implement this project. The detailed scope of work for this task includes:

Task 1: Review and summarize past experiences and lessons

The consultant shall investigate and review the current NEDC program implementation and progress in Hefei to master detailed information on Hefei’s NEDC project. Meanwhile, past experiences and lessons shall be well summarized on the new energy applications in the city, in order to establish a foundation for updating the Hefei City NEDC program planning and prepare the Hefei NEDC implementation plans.

1.1 Investigation

The consultant institution shall thoroughly investigate on Hefei’s NEDC plan and implementation progress, which include but not limited to the following aspects:

  Current Hefei NEDC program objectives and targets, and their fulfillment.

  Energy portfolio in the city Hefei;

  Infrastructure for the new energy industry development;

  New energy resources;

  New energy applications;

  Policy environment for new energy development; and

  Problems and difficulties in the NEDC program development.

  Any other factors and information to be considered in long-term energy planning that supports new energy technologies

1.2 Summarize lessons and experiences

Based on the work of task 1.1, the consultant shall summarize the past experiences and lessons on the new energy applications in the city and write a report on the lessons learnt, in order to establish a foundation for updating the Hefei City NEDC program planning and prepare the Hefei NEDC implementation plans.

Task 2: Study on Hefei NEDC related problems

Based on the deliverables of task 1, the consultant shall study on the issues and problems related to the Hefei City NEDC program planning and preparation of the Hefei NEDC implementation plans.

2.1 Identify and study on obstacles for implementing Hefei NEDC projects

Based on the results of Task 1, the consultant shall study and analyze the problems and obstacles that Hefei may face in resources, industry, economic conditions, and policy environment. The consultant shall also analyze the possible barriers of mechanisms and administrative systems, technologies, and market and suggest viable approaches and solutions to overcome the barriers, in the form of specific recommendations to the Hefei local government for revisions and updates to the existing plan (2016-2020), as well as for the future plan for the 2021-2025 timeframe.

2.2 Study on conditions and requirement in implementing the NEDC program in Hefei

Based on the results of Task 1, the consultant shall study and analyze the technical, market and policy conditions required for the further development of the new energy cities in Hefei.

·  As for the technical condition, the consultant should analyze study on the current situation in Hefei, for achieving the development target, what technique condition should be provided, such as grid integration, monitoring system;

·  As for the policy condition, the consultant should study on the policy environment and condition, such as innovative mechanism and policies which could facilitate and promote RE development and target achievement of the NEDC program in Hefei, such as power market design;

2.3 Study on the critical NEDC project activities

Based on the results of Task 1 and tasks 2.1 to 2.3, the consultant shall identify and recommend critical tasks of the NEDC project in correspondence with basic conditions of Hefei City in order to achieve the development goals. The key activities shall concern institutional mechanisms, policies and incentives, technology and industry development, market development and capacity building, etc.

The consultant should provide a clear clue and approach for the projects design and arrangement for achieving the NEDC construction target, including 1) objective of the project; 2) for policy design and innovative mechanism research, there should be stakeholders, management or operation, and result evaluation; 3) for the technology and industry development project, there should be the project location, investment and timeframe.

2.4 Research on the NEDC program enabling systems

On the basis of task 1 and the above research results, the consultant shall research on the enabling systems of the Hefei new energy city development program and put forward a feasible development management system, to enable practical implementation of the NEDC plans and projects.

2.5 Research on Hefei new energy city development goals and direction

Based on the results of Task 1, the consultant shall propose and recommend the goals and direction of Hefei new energy city development, including basic principles, visions, layout, and development objectives, in considering the city’s basic conditions.

Task 3. Renewing the Hefei NEDC program plan and preparing the NEDC implementation proposals.

Based on the results of Task 1 and Task 2, the consultant shall update the "Hefei NEDC development plan and prepare an "Implementation Plan of Hefei New Energy City Development Program."

3.1Revise and update the Hefei NEDC development plan

Based on the above research results, the consultant shall revise the Hefei National New Energy Demonstration City Program Plan, which shall include (but not be limited to):

  RE development objectives;

  Principles;

  Policies, technologies, and market development conditions;

  Key projects;

  Ensuring measures.

3.2 Develop the Hefei NEDC program implementation plan

The consultant shall, on the basis of the above research results, formulate the Implementation Plan for Hefei New Energy City Development Program. The implementation plan shall include (but not be limited to):

a)  Development objectives, including the city development targets by technology;

b)  Strategies on how to achieve the development targets;

c)  Allocation of the target by technology or counties;

d)  Major tasks and activities, including the plan for major investment projects by location and technology to achieve the target, and policies and regulation need to be developed;

e)  Local policy recommendations, including supporting policies and administrative regulations;

f)  Estimation of total investment needed;

g)  Monitoring of progress towards achieving the targets;

h)  Coordinative mechanisms, for example, if there should be an institution or office to coordinate among projects for improving the quality and efficacy during the implementation.

Task 4. Overall City-Level Coordination and Integration of CRESP Activities

Consultant shall be responsible for coordinating and integrating all other consultants and scopes of work for CRESP implementation in Hefei. When necessary, consultant shall inform Hefei project office of potential conflicts, overlaps, schedule dependencies, or other coordination needs, such that the Hefei project office can give appropriate guidance and oversight to the other consultants working on other CRESP TORs in Hefei. These activities include (but are not limited to):

·  Identification and management of sequence, timing, and schedule dependencies of related work across different TORs. Identify what TOR outputs will inform or feed into other TOR activities, and ensure that the relevant parties understand these dependencies and sequencing, and can be responsive to them.