United Nations Development Programme / GEF
PDF Block B
COVER PAGE INFORMATION
PIMS Number 3086
1. Country: Mauritania
2. Focal Area: Climate Change
3. Operational Program: OP# 6: Promoting the Adoption of Renewable Energy by Removing Barriers and Reducing Implementation Costs
Strategic Priority; CC- 4: Productive uses of Energy Efficiency
CC-3: Power sector policy frameworks supportive of renewable and energy efficiency
4. Project Title: ADRAR Solar Initiative and Decentralized Electrification in the
Northern Coastline of Mauritania through Hybrid (Wind/Diesel) Systems
5. Total Cost: US$163,000
6. PDF Request from GEF: US$100,000
7. Cash and in-kind contributions for PDF phase co-financing & sources:
UNDP-Nouakchott country Office (cash) US$ 50,000
ADER-Government co-financing (in-kind) US$13,000
Total co-financing secured US$ 63,000
PDF B Project Total US$ 163,000
Anticipated Full Project Financing Plan
Estimated GEF financing commitment for Full Project US$3,366,033
Expected Government of Mauritania Co-financing (in cash) US$3,777,700
8. Requesting Agency: UNDP-GEF
9. Executing Agency: UNDP-GEF/Mauritania
10. Duration: 8 months for PDF B (starting in January 2004)
13
PROJECT STRUCTURE
11. Project objective:
11.1. The primary objective of the project is to contribute to addressing the country’s rural energy service delivery needs by increasing electricity access to the rural and low-income settlements in the ADRAR desert areas together with the northern shoreline which has an interesting economic potential. A secondary objective is to use the climate change-energy –poverty reduction linkage to spearhead the fight against rural poverty in the context of an on-going energy sector restructuring exercise, which is progressing well and needs additional concrete operational successes to sustain the government’s commitment to the reforms. The aftermath of the recent turmoil and the June 6th failed coup attempt has established a setting within which energy sector reform and restructuring efforts will need more donor support if the government’s plans to promote rural electrification through RETs (Renewable Energy Technologies) is to materialize in a realistic time frame. The project will essentially build on the government’s efforts to promote productive uses of renewable energy in the regions that have a demonstrated economic potential by removing the relevant barriers and piloting various delivery models for the intended installation/deployment of renewable energy systems.
11.2 Mauritania launched a reasonably successful rural electrification project in the mid to late 90s (MAU/93/G32/A/1G/99) with co-financing from UNDP-GEF, which resulted in local awareness of the importance of RETs for a sahelian country with very little natural resource endowment. Ownership of the technology, its installation and maintenance by the local actors themselves together with the involvement of the beneficiary communities turned out to be more successful than initially anticipated and further demand was elicited on the basis of the initial successful demonstration projects.
11.3. A post implementation evaluation carried out in 1996-1997 by an international firm[1] revealed that despite the notoriously law levels of income in rural Mauritania, the involvement of the beneficiary communities and willingness to pay for the services that they valued had allowed the project to meet more than its operational expenditures. The evaluation report emphasized the need to consolidate the achievements of the program and put to further good use the wealth of knowledge that was accumulated. In many ways, the above successful implementation of ALIZE and its community-based applications with demonstrated impact on the welfare of the villagers convinced the government that it was necessary and timely to address the promotion of renewable energies in a more systematic manner, with a clearly defined rural electrification policy/program from a long-term perspective.
11.4. With limited donor seed funding in 2001, in part as a result of the concrete demonstration effect of the ALIZE Project and, in part because of the restructuring/reform of the entire energy sector, ADER (National Renewable Energy Agency) was created with a mandate to promote the design, evaluation and field implementation of renewable energy projects with a focus on poverty reduction alternatives. As an operational instrument for the government and a number of donor co-financed rural energy interventions, ADER has prepared the “ADRAR Solar Initiative and Decentralized Hybrid (Wind/Diesel) Electrification of the Northern Shoreline of Mauritania” over the past 12 months, building on lessons learned from the ALIZE program but also recognizing its own needs for capacity strengthening to be able to meet the sector’s financing and operational challenges.
11.5. The proposed involvement of GEF in the feasibility stage and future co-financing and implementation of the above project is intended to: (i) remove barriers to the adoption of Solar PVs by implementing a rural solar PV electrification program in the ADRAR region based on a pre-payment scheme; (ii) up-scale the utilisation of hydride wind/diesel systems to power up to 15-20 decentralized rural settlements along the northern shoreline between Nouakchott (capital city) and Nouadhibou (major economic center) in ways that consolidate the past achievements of the GEF ALIZE electrification project; and (iii) significantly strengthen the institutional and operational capacity of the newly establish ADER, the National Renewable Energy Agency.
11.6. Expected outputs from the government’s baseline project are three fold:
11.7. For the solar PV component of the ADRAR region the project will result in:
i) testing and implementation of solar PV systems through a pre-payment scheme;
ii) supply and installation of PV kits with meters for pre-payment in 1,500 rural households as estimated by the National Renewable Energy Agency.
iii) supply and installation of 6 solar pumps, 6 solar cooling systems all with meters for pre-payment; and,
iv) training of the local communities and stakeholders
11.8. The hydrid system component along the northern shoreline will result in:
i) running power supply to 15 villages off a diesel generator coupled with a wind-turbine; i.e. more than 8000 households in the target beneficiary zone to support income generating activities, conservation of agricultural produces and fish, craftsmanship etc..;
ii) setting-up and training of local community-based project management committees.
11.9. The capacity building/institutional strengthening component aimed at ADER is expected to result in:
i) increased operational capacity of ADER in SHS/PV project management with relevant project monitoring and evaluation capabilities;
ii) increased operational capacity of ADER in hybrid systems (wind turbine/diesel) project management with relevant monitoring and evaluation capabilities;
iii) establishment of rural energy services extension agents for project supervision in both regions of the project activities;
iv) inclusion of renewable energy issues in national development planning within the context of the formulation of integrated rural development projects and programs;
v) additional transfer of know-how through seminars and selected learning events and workshops;
vi) availability of a project data-base tracing implementation performance through the project’s comprehensive M& E plan.
12. Global significance:
12.1. The global significance of the proposed activities stems from the avoidance of CO2 emissions with respect to a baseline scenario of full diesel power generation to supply the rural settlements on the northern shoreline and no substitution effect through solar PVs in the ADRAR region. Up to 90,000 rural households in Mauritania have yet to have access to electricity in some 560 rural districts which will require an estimated US$36 million if their basic energy needs are realistically going to be met within the next 10 years or so. Only 1,000 rural households are recorded to have electricity access through a decentralized scheme up to date. AFD, the French Development Agency is executing a project to increase rural electricity access to 9,000 households by 2004. The use of pre-paid electricity supply through PV systems is intended to displace -- in a self-sustaining manner -- the use of traditional fuels which would otherwise generate additional GHGs in the atmosphere.
In the ADRAR region where solar energy potential is remarkably high, (among the best in the whole of Africa per the attached solar Map, see figure 1 below), there are more than 100 villages with over 10,000 households in total scattered over the desert land. Because of the low population density and the levels of incomes that are very low, sensible baseline assumptions would only envisage the option of traditional fuels use despite the detrimental impact on the environment unless an improved scenario is offered.
Figure: 1 Global Solar Power Map
North Africa
12.2. For the ADRAR region together with the neighboring areas (i.e. ADRAR, ASSABA, TAGANT, GORGOL and GUIDIMAKHA) a review of current energy consumption patterns by ADER suggests that 6,522 tons of CO2 are emitted annually. Close inspection of ADER’s data-base reveals that 633 tons of the above cumulative emission is generated in ADRAR alone. Baseline assumption include annual population growth rate of 2.5% essential use of candles, kerosene powered lighting systems and LPG to a lesser extent. The implication of the above is a 3% annual increase in CO2 emissions representing some 163 tons of CO2 per annum. Hence PV power supply to a minimum of 1484 households annually would be required to maintain the level of emissions at the current level .
12.3. With respect to the global significance of the proposed activities on the northern shoreline between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou, tapping the country’s enormous wind energy potential is an intuitive and appealing approach, particularly for a region that has an interesting economic development potential but little conventional energy resources. With ground-level wind speeds in the range of 5.5 to 8 m/s together with recorded speeds in the tune of 16m/s on average annually above 10 meters of altitude, the country’s poor natural resource endowment is in sharp contrast with its renewable energy potential, both solar and wind energy potential combined. Moreover, the sizable renewable energy resource base of Mauritania coupled with its income profile suggests that efforts to address the energy service needs of the poor rural areas with renewable energy sources is timely and economically efficient.
12.4. The village of Nouamghar within the selected project site which benefited from the ALIZE project in 1996 offers a good example of the scheme to be scaled-up. With a wind turbine generating 30 KW associated with a 10 KVA diesel generator, the village’s consumption data over the years shows that similar schemes with wind-turbine in tandem with diesel generators in the 15 villages under consideration will avoid 10,230 tons of CO2 emissions with respect to a baseline scenario of full diesel power supply. Many villages in the selected project sites have benefited from a number of recent income generating activities through development projects initiated with sea water desalinization facilities, fish conditioning and processing factories along with training. Therefore in reality, the quantities of avoided CO2 stand out to be much larger.
12.5. Perhaps, the global significance of the project is best illustrated by the fact that the selected beneficiary villages are located in a buffer zone with respect to the protected national Park of the ARGUIN costal zone which was declared an international biosphere reserve. The protection of the above international asset will be further strengthened by meeting the basic energy needs of riparian villages to reduce incentives for them to harvest the scarce resources within the protected national park.
13. Background
13.1. The Government of Mauritania (GoM) has been promoting since the early 1980s, the adoption of LPG as a substitute for wood fuels, in order to alleviate the pressure on forest resources, and control the environmental impacts associated with deforestation. The national program of LPG promotion benefited from donor support, namely, the EU. Despite a noticeable increase in LPG consumption in urban areas (a threefold increase between 1987 and 1997), the program fell short of meeting its quantitative goal. The dissemination of improved stoves started in 1992 has been relatively more successful. Overall, however, the implementation of the household energy strategy adopted by the GoM in 1991 has been hindered by the lack of an effective institutional and organizational framework and well-targeted supporting investments. Within the above context, alternative energy sources were explored since 1995 mainly through the GEF/UNDP supported "Decentralized wind electric power for social and economic development (Alizés Electriques)" project which laid the ground work for the current proposal.
13.2. The situation today is that most of the Mauritanian population have no access to electricity. While in urban areas 30% of households have electricity, in rural areas electricity access rate is less than 1%. For lighting the poor use candles, dry cells, batteries, and kerosene lamps. The illumination is dim, and causes eye strain if reading is attempted. It is fair to say that a large number of these people remain “in the dark” without access to electricity. Diesel groups also are limited in number in rural areas and most small entrepreneurs (decortiqueries, garages, welding, etc.) cannot afford the investment and the associated O&M cost due to high supply cost and unreliable availability of fuel, lube oil, and spare parts.
13.3. By way of a government decree (No. 2001-065 of June 18th, 2001), the National Renewable Energy Agency –ADER (Agence Nationale de Développement des Energies Renouvellables) was created as a commercial entity with a public mandate to promote, supervise and raise financing for rural electrification in the country. In establishing ADER as a private commercial venture, governed by commercial law rather than as an Office, the government’s intension for ADER’s managerial efficiency, cost recovery and financial/economic performance standards were clear.
13.4. In January 2003, after close to a year of internal organization and brainstorming, ADER submitted to UNDP-GEF the solar ADRAR proposal with a view to receiving guidance for its further processing by GEF. In May 2003, the UNDP-GEF Regional Coordination Unit was invited to undertake a field mission in Mauritania to take stock of the achievements and lessons that can be drawn from the ALIZE project and apply them to the country’s evolving circumstances by scaling-up the scheme. The mission resulted in a combined project proposal with a dual objective of scaling-up hybrid wind/diesel systems on the coastal zone and simultaneously providing solar energy to the ADRAR region with GEF support. Figure 2 below presents the selected project zone together with the beneficiary villages.
Figure 2: beneficiary villages of Blawakh, Lemsid, Tiwilit, M’Heijrat, J’Reif, Nouamghar,
Aouguej, R’Gueiba, Teichnett, Iwik, Ten Alloul, Tavarit, Agadir etc..located within or close