MOFCOM-UNDP: Trilateral Cooperation on Renewable Energy in Sri Lanka

There are challenges in facilitating the transition of Small and Medium Enterprises’ (SMEs) energy consumption towards Green House Gas (GHG) reducing energy sources, which are negatively impacting Sri Lankan SME environment, especially as a consequence of the need for clearer national guidance on National Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) and lack of information and support to SMEs to adopt cost effective technologies.

The Project supports reductions of Sri Lanka GHG emission national targets through trial and demonstration of the potential of biogas and solar in the agro-industry sector. The Project is implemented under a South-South Cooperation framework and as such presents itself as a learning platform for both China and Sri Lanka to engage and cooperate at the international level in renewable energy technology (RET) transfer for GHG emission reduction.

Objectives:

• To introduce modern biogas technologies to small industries, agro-processing, commercial establishments and households that can take in multiple sources of material that can be locally serviced and managed.
• Supporting national target for energy savings and GHG emission reduction through trial and demonstration of biogas and solar in the agro-industry sector.

Expected results:

The project is implemented on a two-year basis starting from 2019 Q3 to 2021 Q2, and includes two key phases, i.e. demonstration on the piloting sites and cross-country knowledge sharing.

Outcome 1: Demonstrated use of hybrid RET systems for energy savings and GHG emission reduction in small & medium sized agro-industry including farm, agricultural activities, and agro-processing

On the demonstration phase, the aim is to build and develop provincial capacity, consolidate and assess carbon footprint, and demonstrate the potentials of biogas and solar for GHG savings in agro-industries. Main planned interventions will be tentatively carried out from 2019 to 2021, including: organizing stakeholders consultations; develop a monitoring framework and train stakeholders in monitoring energy savings and GHG emission reduction; support Provincial Councils in developing a data collection framework; revision/Inclusion of energy savings targets for agriculture sector in provincial energy plans; participate in site planning and construction; on-site training for operation and maintenance.

Outcome 2: South-South knowledge and experience exchanged

On the knowledge sharing phase, the aim is to explore suitable business models based on piloting results and support Chinese institutions to “go abroad” on capacity development in South partner countries. Main planned interventions will be tentatively carried out from 2019 to 2021, including: organizing training of Trainers in installation, operation and maintenance; organize training on system design; develop and trial Sri Lanka Renewable Energy Awards; host Best Practices Forum; coordinate Business match-making platform; conduct joint research.