Wind in GEF

Wind Energy Projects Supported by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)

By Ad Dankers, UN Development Program (edited by the editors)

Out of the 120 GEF projects that have been started since 1991, only 3 deal with wind energy. Total financing related to these activities, which consist of one pilot project (the 'old' version of a full-size project) and two project development activities, amounted to $ 2.9 mill. of the GEF climate portfolio of $ 177 mill. The three activities are being undertaken in Mauritania, Eritrea, and Kazakhstan. Further project development activities are scheduled for Panama, Ecuador/Galapagos, and Pakistan.

The ultimate objective of UNDP/GEF assistance in these projects is to reduce CO₂ emissions related to electricity production. Only if activities to meet this objective are carefully designed and successfully implemented, in combination with investments in wind power, is UNDP/GEF intervention fully justified.

Wind Energy on the Coast of Eritrea

The overall objective of the project is to formulate a comprehensive national programme to remove the barriers to wind-energy projects and to the widespread adoption of wind-energy technology in Eritrea.

Financial support for the current project preparation activities comes to $ 315,000. These activities began in mid 1997 and will run for a total of 15 months.

Activities and outputs of the current project:

· Creation of a wind-energy information system based on wind monitoring for the southern coastal region of Eritrea.

· Development of a strategy for maintenance, updating, and extension of the wind-energy information system, at the most promising additional sites.

· Identification of technical, economic, and institutional viable wind-power projects along the Red Sea in the south of Eritrea. This includes demand forecasting and cost-benefit analysis.

· Preparation of technical concepts to connect wind generators to existing grids or to use them for off-grid applications. This requires assessment of their technical, economic, and institutional feasibility.

· Preparation of a project designed to remove barriers to wind-power generation in Eritrea and to promote its rapid deployment.

Removing Barriers to Wind-power Production in Kazakhstan

Total available budget for this project development activity is $481,000, of which $131,000 is being provided by the Government of Kazakhstan as in kind contribution. The project commenced late in 1997 and has a total time frame of 12 months. The objective of the full-scale project to be developed is to remove barriers to commercial, grid connected wind-power production in Kazakhstan, reducing the need for new fossil-fuel-based power plants. The project is expected to achieve this by:

· strengthening institutional capacity for research, planning, and technology transfer;

· clarifying costs and various technical issues;

· demonstrating the feasibility of wind-power production in Kazakhstan and drawing the attention of potential future partners to get political and financial support for larger, commercial operations.

These project development activities will include assessment of wind power potential, a plan for involvement of key stake holders, and description of key barriers, along with a feasibility study and financing plan for a wind-power demonstration plant.

The GEF has 3 projects to develop wind energy. They are in Mauritania, Eritrea, and Kazakhstan. They amount to $2.9 million of the GEF climate port folio of $177 million.