USAID CLEAN POWER ASIA FINAL REPORT 2016-2021 Contract Number: AID-486-C-16-00001 Activity Period: June 27, 2016 – June 26, 2021 COR: Scott C. Bartos Disclaimer: This document was produced by Abt Associates under the above referenced contract for review by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional Development Mission for Asia. The authors’ views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. USAID CLEAN POWER ASIA FINAL REPORT 2016-2021 SUBMITTED BY: Abt Associates 6130 Executive Boulevard Rockville, Maryland 20852 USA www.abtassociates.com 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 2 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 6 3 ACTIVITY AREAS 12 I IMPROVING POWER SECTOR PLANNING 14 REGIONAL 16 1. ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS) III 18 2. Improved Planning Data and Tools 22 3. Laos-Vietnam Power Trade 28 LAOS 32 1. Capacity Building for Integrated Resource and 34 Resilience Planning 2. Implementation of Renewable 38 Energy Zones THAILAND 42 1. Utility-Scale Wind in Thailand 44 2 USAID CLEAN POWER ASIA II FOSTERING SUPPORTIVE POLICY FRAMEWORKS 48 UTILITY-SCALE 50 1. Competitive Procurement 52 2. Renewable Energy Regulations 58 DISTRIBUTED GENERATION 62 1. Distributed Photovoltaics Policy 64 2. Distributed Photovoltaics Regulations 69 ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES 72 III MOBILIZING FINANCE AND INVESTMENT 78 IMPLEMENTATION 80 1. Rooftop Solar Deployment in Thailand and 82 Vietnam 2. Utility-Scale Solar and Wind in Vietnam 86 CAPACITY BUILDING ON PROJECT FINANCE FOR 90 RENEWABLE ENERGY TOOLS AND GUIDELINES FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR 96 IV PROMOTING ENHANCED REGIONAL COLLABORATION 100 COVID-19 Pandemic Adaptation 102 Communications 104 Gender 106 Partnerships 108 4 MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING 110 ANNEXES 114 SUCCESS STORIES 116 ACRONYMS 126 FINAL REPORT 2016 - 2021 3 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Photo credit: Pitoon Junthip Abt Associates/ USAID Clean Power Asia nergy consumption across Southeast Asia is projected to double by 2040. Without Ea concerted effort to promote low emission power systems, the region will continue to rely heavily on conventional energy sources such as coal and large-scale hydropower to meet demand. Further expansion of conventional power plants will have far-reaching negative impacts, both for global greenhouse gas emissions as well as for ecosystems, human health, fisheries, and livelihoods throughout the Mekong River basin and beyond. The United States Agency for International power development plans became clear, resulting Development (USAID) Clean Power Asia program in increased solar and wind targets. was a $16.3 million contract, implemented by Abt Associates, which worked with Lower Mekong The program provided technical assistance and countries and other Association of Southeast Asian capacity building to select countries driven by their Nations (ASEAN) member states to encourage needs and interests, with lessons learned shared power sector investments in environmentally regionally to ensure broader implementation friendly, grid-connected renewable energy (RE) and harmonization of policies and regulations sources. The program focused explicitly on to increase RE in the generation mix, including incorporating renewable energy into planning, incentives, power procurement practices, and promoting smart incentives, building an enabling technical standards for utility-scale, customer, and environment for renewable energy policies and advanced technologies. This was complemented frameworks, and mobilizing finance. The program by technical assistance and capacity building to collaborated with diverse stakeholders, partners, improve project bankability and access to finance and regional organizations in four Lower Mekong to facilitate private investment in renewable power. (LM) countries, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Partnerships developed with private institutions, Vietnam, and shared lessons learned and best funded by their own funds and other donors, practices among additional ASEAN member resulted in over $1 million USD of in-kind and states, including the Philippines and Indonesia. direct funding to complement USAID funding for USAID Clean Power Asia’s goal was to accelerate programmatic activities. the regional transition to a high performing, low carbon power sector, that was to be accomplished Despite the challenges due to COVID-19 with three interconnected outcomes: high restrictions on travel and meeting with renewable energy scenarios included in energy stakeholders, USAID Clean Power Asia has planning; improved enabling policy, regulatory, contributed to the proposal, adoption, and/ and technical environment for renewable energy or implementation of 16 new policies and deployment; and increased investment in and regulations across multiple countries. Over deployment of grid-connected renewable energy $7 billion of investment has been mobilized in projects. renewable energy investments, resulting from installation of more than 9,000 megawatts of The USAID Clean Power Asia program began at a renewable energy capacity. Based on these policies time when innovations in power system planning and installed RE projects, USAID Clean Power Asia to incorporate more renewable energy were has contributed to preventing over 93 million being driven by unprecedented cost reductions, tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in greenhouse especially for solar and wind projects. The program gas emissions being released into the atmosphere focused at a national level in Laos and regionally over the next 15 years. In addition, the expansion across Southeast Asia to consider higher levels of webinars due to an inability to convene in of RE than accounted for in current power plans, person enabled reaching a greater number and demonstrating that by using new sources of data far more diverse set of stakeholders, including and tools better adapted to evaluating greater RE more women, to share best practices and lessons levels, the potential for increased solar and wind in learned over the five years of the program. FINAL REPORT 2016 - 2021 5 INTRODUCTION & 2 BACKGROUND 6 USAID CLEAN POWER ASIA Overall objectives and major achievements Just as all action begins with planning, the same is true of the power sector in the Lower Mekong and Southeast Asia broadly. The USAID Clean Power Asia program began at a time when innovations in power system planning were incorporating more renewable energy, driven by unprecedented cost reductions, especially for solar and wind projects. The program focused on ensuring greater consideration for higher levels of renewable energy in power sector plans, including through the use of new sources of data and tools better adapted to enable informed decision-making for greater RE levels. The program included a focus on Laos, Augmenting these plans, policies, and which has abundant hydro and other regulations was a focus on promoting renewable resources in demand by investment in RE projects in the current neighboring countries Cambodia, Thailand, policy and regulatory environment. The and Vietnam. Cambodia, Thailand, and program improved project bankability Vietnam received assistance in revising and access to finance to facilitate power development plans from other primarily private sector investment in USAID programs and donors including RE generation; advanced technologies the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to complement or facilitate RE such International Energy Agency (IEA), World as battery storage; and transmission Bank, and USAID Vietnam Low Emission infrastructure, working with utilities, Energy Program (V-LEEP). Regionally, developers, investors, financiers and banks, USAID Clean Power Asia supported corporations and industry associations. planning for improved connectivity and This was facilitated by direct technical and power trade among ASEAN member financial feasibility support, development states in support of the ASEAN Plan of of financial tools and models specific to Action for Energy Cooperation. the region, capacity building to lending and financing institutions and negotiating Bringing those plans to life required equitable financing agreements, including an improved enabling policy and balancing major risks for all parties regulatory environment that enhanced through an appropriate mix of loans, energy services, attracted private equity, guarantees and letters of credit. sector investment, and strengthened energy security throughout the region. The program focused on Laos’ planning Regional knowledge-sharing provided process due to its strategic role in the LM an opportunity for policymakers and region power sector, and because other regulators to learn from peers and donors and international organizations international best practices on how to including the ADB, the World Bank, and define, clarify, and achieve policy objectives the IEA (with European Union funding) and develop regulations that support were assisting other LM countries. A long- rather than inhibit integration of increased term integrated resource and resilience RE in Southeast Asian power systems. It plan (IRRP), as well as a complementary also developed a network of practitioners vulnerability assessment and resilience capable of providing longer-term sharing action plan, were completed, enabling beyond the end of the USAID Clean Laos to combine its domestic and export Power Asia program. FINAL REPORT 2016 - 2021 7 2 Drone footage of a solar farm in Thailand. power needs into one plan for the first Laos committed early in the program