Interview with David Sweet, Executive Director, WADE
Vienna, 14.07.2008 - written by: Peter Richards
REEEP interviews David Sweet from the World Alliance for Decentralised Energy (WADE)
WADE is supporting decentralised energy – how does your organisation define the term decentralised? Are these always rural solutions?
WADE defines decentralized energy (DE) as "Electricity production at or near the point of use, irrespective of size, technology or fuel used - both off-grid and on-grid." DE includes high efficiency cogeneration (CHP), on-site renewable energy and industrial energy recycling and on-site power. There is a wide portfolio of DE technologies. All renewable energy technologies can be decentralized as can fossil-fueled powered steam or gas turbines.
DE can therefore be a practical solution anywhere thermal energy and power are needed in both rural and urban contexts. DE can be attractive economically in a wide range of communities: from multibillion dollar high tech factories to remote and impoverished villages with little financial wealth and no modern energy. Depending on the particular circumstances of the applications for which power and heating/cooling are required, particular DE technologies are better suited than others but often a range of options are possible.
In highly populated areas DE can complement existing central generation capacity and is useful in homes, commercial buildings and industry. It includes heating and cooling, not only power production.
In rural areas DE can also be very practical for the textile, sugar, food and forestry industries and also for water pumping and rural electrification. In a remote village with no existing power grid or source of modern energy villagers could invest in DE, for example in the form of a small wind turbine or PV panel to provide basic illumination or help charge mobile phones.
What services does WADE provide to developing world countries & who can request assistance from your organisation?
WADE specializes in technical and market research, power sector investment modeling developing pioneering seminars and research related to decentralized energy as well as advocating for DE in a variety of media.
WADE has worked with and advised public and private sector groups and developing countries on how to bring about greater deployment of sustainable energy systems using decentralized energy technologies. WADE serves as a resource both for the member companies which support its work and the general public that is curious in learning more about the advantages of decentralized energy (DE).
WADE provides a wide range of services such as providing specialized market intelligence, tailored research, strategic contacts and unique opportunities for highlighting the benefits of their decentralized energy products to governments and the general public.
REEEP also supports decentralised energy production, how could WADE and REEEP work together?
There are a number of possible areas where WADE and REEEP’s work complement each other. Whereas REEEP tends to have a project specific focus and has no mandate to actively petition for change from governments WADE tends to work to affect change at a more macro perspective and has traditionally been active in putting pressure on government and private sector to adopt policies conducive to project level initiatives.
WADE’s advocacy work tries to encourage adoption of progressive policy both nationally and multilaterally naturally complements REEEPs efforts to get physical projects off the ground. WADE’s global network of experts in the decentralized energy field can also be mobilized to advance REEEP’s goals and objectives.
Are there certain technology solutions that are better suited for rural communities?
Distributed renewables are particularly well suited for rural areas because the technology can be chosen to match the resource (solar in sunny areas, micro hydro in areas with a water resource etc), the project scale can easily match demand due to the modularity of distributed generation technologies, expensive grid extensions can be avoided all together and diesel and other fossil fuels need not be imported.
- Solar energy: Photovoltaic or PV panels are increasingly used to generate electricity which can assist schools with lighting, hospitals with refrigeration or workshops with power for craftspeople. Solar thermal is used for heating water and avoids deforestation.
- Wind Turbines: Wind is currently the most popular form of renewable energy in developed countries as the technology is reliable and financing readily available. Wind farms are also half to three times cheaper than solar power plants.
- Biomass: Biomass probably has the highest applicability to the developing world since there is an abundance of agricultural and forest waste that can be burned to produce steam for an electric turbine. Also, solid waste and sewage can be burnt for power or decomposed to produce natural gas. Biomass gasification is an emerging clean energy technology.
What is WADE’s position on climate change and carbon dioxide emission reductions?
WADE has a long history in being engaged in international debates surrounding climate change. WADE was founded in 1997 as a direct response to a perceived need for increased awareness surrounding decentralized energy as a potential climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy at the third United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Kyoto.
In WADE’s view climate change is a critical global issue and clean and efficient decentralized energy systems are a key solution. Decentralized energy technologies are uniquely placed to reduce the destabilizing affects of conventional energy use while minimizing costs and making significant contributions to improving energy security and conserving fuel.
Does WADE participate in Kyoto mechanisms such as the CDM?
WADE has not yet become involved in developing specific CDM projects, however, it has considerable expertise in understanding the underlying instruments of the mechanism and the significant potential that has yet to be realized for generating emissions reduction credits via the development of decentralized energy technologies.
WADE has authored a detailed guide on developing cogeneration projects under the aegis of the CDM. Because of the great greenhouse gas mitigating potential of decentralized energy the CDM mechanisms and other emission trading schemes will continue to be of great relevance to WADE’s work.
REEEP is helping countries like Liberia, Uganda and Ecuador develop new renewable energy policies. How could WADE also assist these countries?
WADE has a well established history in providing advice and building the institutional capacity needed in order to make decentralized energy investment attractive in both emerging and established markets. For example:
- in Sri Lanka WADE used its economic model to demonstrate to power sector leaders that economic and environmental goals were simultaneously achievable using DE.
- in Peru, WADE conducted a leadership summit to allow energy sector leaders to learn about the benefits of DE and introduce project developers to potential investors.
- in Nigeria WADE is working with local partners to catalogue the potential for recovering natural gas from existing flares for the purpose of providing clean energy to local communities currently living with flares.
These are the types of value that WADE could also bring to countries like Liberia, Uganda and Ecuador.
REEEP would like to work with Small Island States. What barriers should REEEP focus on removing to accelerate decentralised energy in island communities?
Decentralized renewable energy technologies are ideally suited for islands and other regions where fossil fuels must be imported great distances. On islands where grid infrastructure already exists any policy barriers which remain that prevent decentralized energy investors from connecting to and feeding power into the network must be eliminated. For example, individual farmers and industries should be allowed to connect to the grid and they must also be encouraged to invest in their own generation capacity via incentive instruments such as feed-in tariffs (that award a premium price for each kWh fed into the grid).
Whether or not grid infrastructure exists individual investors must be provided access to finance mechanisms that matches their means to purchase the necessary capital equipment. For example, in order to encourage remote farmers to invest in small wind turbines some sort of microfinance needs to be available which allows for flexible and affordable longer term financing that is still feasible for modest incomes.
What is a good example of a success story that other countries could model?
Great work is being done all over the world to promote decentralized energy (whether or not the term is explicitly being used). Individual case studies are becoming more and more numerous everyday. Examples range from trigeneration plants being installed at various major airports and datacenters to biomass-fired cogeneration plants in rural agro-industries like sugar, palm oil and rice to PV panels being used in remote villages for charging cell phones.
However of more significance to WADE’s work are more wider reaching strategic or policy developments designed to promote decentralized energy. Notable examples include the very small power producer program in Thailand and the recent strategy adopted in Azerbaijan to invest in a network of interconnected decentralized energy plants rather than one large and comparatively inefficient centralized plant and the corresponding high voltage transmission upgrades which would have then been needed.
How does WADE see REEEP adding value? What do you like about our partnership?
REEEP is a globally recognized leader in the areas of efficiency and the development of a sustainable energy future. REEEP’s credibility, global network, innovative approach and leadership is truly remarkable. As an agent for change for deployment of renewables, REEEP is of unequaled effectiveness.