Lack of sustainable and affordable electricity has been a significant challenge for the Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the area and the main barrier to expanding their activities. In addition to being very expensive, the use of diesel generators has resulted in air pollution Contact online >>
Lack of sustainable and affordable electricity has been a significant challenge for the Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the area and the main barrier to expanding their activities. In addition to being very expensive, the use of diesel generators has resulted in air pollution and health problems for the local residents. Due to lack of electricity, children have not able to study at night.
The Afghanistan Sustainable Energy for Rural Development (ASERD) project, under which the mini-grid has been constructed, is aligned with the Government of Afghanistan''s priorities. It is a flagship project of the MRRD and UNDP Afghanistan and is financially supported by the Republic of Korea and UNDP Afghanistan.
H.E. Popal Habibi, MRRD Deputy Minister, said that "electricity not only lightens your houses but is also a foundational stone for other development interventions. We hope that the electricity will add to the beauty of this attractive valley and will contribute to a prosperous life for the local residents and to achieving economic self-reliance."
The mini-grid has a robust operation and maintenance mechanism ensuring people have reliable access to electricity. This project is expected to provide electricity to approximately 18,000 people (about 3,000 households) and more than 80 small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Access will extend to health clinics, mosques, madrassas (religious schools) and schools in the project area.
"As in the rest of the world, there is a great demand for energy in Afghanistan: be it rural residents, business-people, utilities, hospital, schools or irrigation," said H.E. Choi Tae-Ho, Ambassador of Republic of Korea.
"Afghanistan has extremely low access to energy," he added, "which in turn harms the economy, people''s livelihoods, business, health and education. We are proud to mention that today with financial support of Republic of Korea, financial and technical support of UNDP and MRRD we are inaugurating the first Hybrid Mini-Grid of Solar and Hydro in Dare Noor District of Nangarhar province."
"Access to affordable and reliable electricity will provide equitable economic growth, lighting, health benefits, access to up-to-date information and connection to the world. It also helps improve peoples'' living standards and business environment through the productive use of electricity," added Ms. Surayo Buzurukova, UNDP Afghanistan''s Deputy Resident Representative.
ASERD plans to develop additional renewable energy mini-grids. In addition, it intends to develop policies, best practices and guidelines for encouraging decentralized, renewable energy access to fulfill thermal and electrical energy demand in rural Afghanistan.
The second edition of the Transformative Chronicles book is about Afghanistan''s journey of resilience and hope. This volume, part of the UNDP ABADEI initiative,
An innovative solar mini-grids project will lay the foundations for Afghanistan''s mini-grids market, with the aim of helping the country to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions while tackling rural energy poverty and supporting a green recovery amid the COVID-19 crisis.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved funding of around $17.2 million for the project with a total budget of $21.4 million, which will be implemented by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and co-financed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as well as the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD).
Renewable energy mini-grids are independent energy systems that operate outside of the national electricity grid. As renewables equipment becomes cheaper and disruptive digital technologies more accessible, mini-grids have garnered a lot of interest from public and private actors as a solution to bridge the energy access gap in areas where expanding the national grid would be too costly or challenging.
The country''s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Climate Agreement identifies extreme hunger and poverty as key issues for the country, and states that climate change could deepen both. The COVID-19 crisis now adds a new layer of challenges. At the core of these intertwined crises lies rural energy poverty—a complex, multifaceted issue with considerable environmental, social and health impacts.
Only 30 per cent of people in the country have access to electricity through the national grid. Most people without access to the national grid rely on costly and polluting diesel generators or kerosene for basic energy needs. In rural areas, 95 per cent of people are using fuels such as firewood or charcoal for cooking and heating. This leads to health issues related to air pollution and forest degradation.
This widespread energy poverty is also significant for Afghanistan''s greenhouse gas emissions. If the 24.5 million people who are currently not connected to the grid resort to diesel generators for their energy needs, it would amount to 2.76 million tCO2 emissions per year.
That''s where mini-grids come in. A rapidly deployable solution, expected to become cost-effective in the near future, mini-grids have great potential to bring steady electricity to communities while reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
The mini-grid market is currently almost non-existent in Afghanistan. The country''s power sector policies and regulations are not in place to guide the development and operations of mini-grids by the private sector. This means necessary investments cannot take place, and scaling up access to clean energy cannot happen.
The project will lay the foundations for a national mini-grids market by creating an enabling environment that will facilitate private sector investments through suitable policies and regulations, green procurement guidelines, institutional frameworks, delivery models and financing, technological solutions, and capacity building.
It will also set up 3 solar mini-grids to showcase the viability of this model, with the aim of driving future investments. These first proof-of-concept mini-grids alone are expected to bring clean energy to 49,000 beneficiaries, almost half of them women, and result in 173,082 tCO2 emissions reduction over the lifetime of the deployed technology.
"This project will help Afghanistan on its journey towards clean energy by creating market conditions to scale up mini-grids," said UNDP Afghanistan Resident Representative Abdallah Al Dardari. "This has potential to change the lives of millions of people in the country. Access to clean energy not only helps curb greenhouse gas emissions; it also empowers people and builds resilience. It improves education and healthcare. It supports farmers, small businesses, and can create new livelihoods."
Through this project, Afghanistan is set to advance its 2030 Sustainable Development agenda. Beyond being Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, access to clean energy enables the realization of a range of other SDGs—from climate action to gender equality, poverty reduction, education, and achieving zero hunger by increasing agricultural productivity.
As COVID-19 threatens to unravel the country''s painstaking efforts to recover from decades of war, access to clean energy will help communities rebuild, and bring hope for a better future for all.
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