The Energy and EnvironmentPartnership (EEP) with theMekong region is a grant pro-gramme funded by the Ministryfor Foreign Affairs of Finlandand the Nordic DevelopmentFund.

EEP Mekong promotes renew-able energy, energy efficiencyand clean technology invest-ments in the four Mekong countries - Cambodia, Lao PDR,Thailand and Vietnam. The objective is to combat climatechange while providing sustain-able energy services to those wholack them. The programme is designed to facilitate the deve-lopment of innovative ideas, approaches and concepts intosustainable and bankable invest-ment projects that will bringsubstantial benefits to the partner countries.

The EEP Mekong is based onCalls for Proposals, which areopen to public entities, compa-nies, research institutions, uni-versities and civil society organi-sations. So far, three calls forproposals have been organised.The first was launched in late2009, where a total of 162 pro-ject ideas were presented and 13 projects were pre-selected for further development. Thesecond call for proposals was organised in mid-2010. Thistime, 105 project ideas werepresented, of which 14 projectideas were pre-selected. Thethird call closed in March 2011.Once again, 105 project ideaswere presented. Twenty-oneproject ideas have been pre-selected. As of 15 October 2011,13 projects are being imple-mented under the EEP Mekong.The following pages provide anintroduction to these 13 projects.

region that aims to reducethese problems. The projectwill develop and demon-strate appropriate climate-friendly energy solutionsfor floating communities.Particular focus will be onachieving sanitation bene-fits through biodigestersthat treat human waste andother community wastes.The project will demonstratesmall-scale floating bio-digester technology that converts waste to energy,producing both biogas forcooking, as well as fertiliser.In addition, other suitabletechnologies will be demon-strated, such as low-costmicro-solar power for house-holds and floating batteryrecharging stations.

Knowledge transfer tothe floating communities isan important part of theproject. Developing localmarkets, as well as trainingof entrepreneurs and com-munity members in produc-tion, sales, operation andmaintenance of the systemswill ensure sustainable localownership and additionallocal economic benefits.

The Tonle Sap is the largestfreshwater lake in South-east Asia. It is connectedto the Mekong River bythe Tonle Sap River. Theecological importance ofTonle Sap was recognisedin 1997 when UNESCOregistered the area on thelist of Biosphere Reserves.Unfortunately, the area’secosystem is under seriousthreat due to factors suchas deforestation as forestsare at an accelerating ratebeing used for fuel wood,and a lack of sanitation as faeces and waste are directly disposed of intothe lake.

Currently, there is lim-ited access to affordableand sustainable energysources for the floatingcommunities of the TonleSap and there are no af-fordable sanitation optionsavailable. Live & Learn En-vironmental Education,Engineers without BordersAustralia and Lund Uni-versity Department ofWater Resource Engineer-ing are implementing aproject in the Tonle Sap

A majority of Cambodianslive in rural areas withoutaccess to a power grid. Manyfamilies are therefore, afterdark, reliant on kerosenelamps to carry out every-day tasks such as cooking,eating and reading. Theselamps pose a serious firerisk, as most rural homesare made from wood andstraw, and a health risk, asadults and children areregularly exposed to smokeand soot.

There is high potentialfor solar power in Cambo-dia. However, there are twomain barriers for large-scale solar rural electrifica-tion. First, the upfrontinvestment costs for solarsystems are high. Second,there is an absence of a goodnetwork for installation,maintenance and repair ofthese systems. Kamworks,Pico Sol Cambodia, andCambodia Mutual Savings

and Credit Network (CMSC)aim to implement a projectthat will remove these twobarriers and consequentlyincrease access to solar en-ergy for rural areas.

The project will providerural areas with solar en-ergy equipment and installa-tions that are efficient andcost-effective. The solar homesystems (SHS) and the MoonLight, which is a solarlantern, will be introduced.Kamworks will providetraining in the assemblyand installation of the solarequipment. In addition,solar rental schemes will be introduced and villageentrepreneurs will receivetraining in solar entrepre-neurship. Hence, the pro-ject will not only providejob opportunities to villa-gers but will also enablethem to earn extra incomethrough solar lantern rentals.MoonLight can be rented

Increasing rural areas’ access to solar energy

Waste converted to energyfor floating communities

Around 1.5 million Cambodians live in floating communities on the Tonle Sap lake and river system and the Mekong River.

The MoonLight solar lanterns willprovide off-grid rural households

with light.

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for less than $0.08/day,which is equivalent to theaverage daily expenditureon kerosene.At the end ofthis project, it is expectedthat about 100 village entrepreneurs will haverented out and serviced3,000 lanterns and 200SHS will have been in-stalled by five trained installers. In addition, the personnel of CMSCwill have been trained toprovide solar loans to vil-lage entrepreneurs andSHS customers. Further-more, an individual main-tenance savings schemewill have been developedto ensure proper main-tenance after the solarloans are paid off.

The project will helpmitigate greenhouse gasemissions as it promotesthe substitution of fossilfuel by renewable energy.

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Cambodia’s energy sector,despite considerable growthover the last decade, is stillstruggling to meet the increasing demand of anexpanding economy and a growing population. Inthe city of Siem Reap, innorth-western Cambodia,energy consumption hasgrown rapidly. Energyscarcity is a major issue,but little has been done inpractice to promote energyefficiency, energy conser-

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The Houay Kapheu small hydropower project site in Lao Ngam District, Saravanh Province.

Lao PDR

The National ConsultingGroup and ABB Oy are implementing a project that will update the inventoryof hydroelectric resourcesand determine their tech-nical and economical via-bility. The project coversfive small hydropower plantsin three provinces, LuangPrabang, Champasak andSaravanh. Three of theplants are new small-scaleplants, while the otherplants need to be renovated.

The project will intro-duce Lao PDR to an inno-vative technology calledPermanent Magnetic Gen-erator (PMG), which iswell-suited for both newsmall-scale hydropowerplants and the renovationof hydropower plants. ThePMG technology is a gear-less, environmentallyfriendly and safe solutionthat improves reliability,

Hydropower plants to be renovated

increases energy efficiencyand reduces both invest-ment and maintenancecosts. During the projectimplementation the hydro-power plants’ employeeswill receive hands-on PMGtraining at the respectiveproject sites.

The project is includedin the National ClimateChange Programme on Renewable Energy.

Development of Lao PDR’s small-scale biodiesel productionThe biofuel sector in LaoPDR is poorly developed,compared to neighbouringcountries. However, a changeis expected to occur as thegovernment has stated thatby 2025, 10% of the fuel inLao PDR will be biofuel. The policy has been well received by the biofuels industry, but so far the majority of the biofuel in-vestments have been inlarge scale plantations.Even though these invest-ments would provide the required feedstock, they do not reduce rural povertylevels.

The Lao Institute for Renewable Energy and itspartners, the Department ofElectricity of the Ministryof Energy and Mines andFACT Foundation intend todemonstrate to what extentsmall-scale biofuel produc-tion can contribute to the

target without negativelyaffecting other national development objectives.

The project is activelyseeking to fit into the coun-try’s existing farming andcommunity structures.Therefore, the focus is onsmall-scale systems. Theplan is to provide the firstbiofuels produced in a smallplant from stock grown bysmallholder farmers, in asafe and sustainable man-ner. The project will growvarious oil feedstock crops,process them into highquality biodiesel, and sellthe fuel produced withinthe district to locally meetthe national target of 10%biofuel by 2025. Poverty levels may decrease as thefarmers will earn moneyfrom growing the feedstockcrops and local people willbe employed to produce thefuel.

vation and renewable en-ergy technologies. There-fore, the Royal Governmentof Cambodia through theCambodian Climate ChangeDepartment (CCCD) of theMinistry of Environment, is implementing an energysavings project in partner-ship with the Department of Energy Technique, theUNEP Risoe Centre on En-ergy, Climate and Sustain-able Development, and theDepartment of Environmen-

tal Sciences of the RoyalUniversity of Phnom Penh.

The project aims to raisethe general public aware-ness of energy efficiency,electricity savings and cli-mate change issues by con-ducting public workshopsand developing energy la-belling for electric appli-ances. In addition, simpleenergy conservation meas-ures will be demonstrated assolar water heaters in se-lected sites will be installed

and compact fluorescentlamps (CFLs), which useup to 75% less electricitythan light bulbs and lastup to ten times longer,will be distributed. Theproject will involve house-holds, government build-ings, the commercial andprivate sectors, and aimsto change behaviour and foster a culture of energyfrugality.

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The Finland Futures Re-search Centre has part-nered with the Departmentof Electricity in the Min-istry of Energy and Minesof Lao PDR to improve theenergy planning capacitiesof Lao PDR’s decision-makers. This project is inaccordance with the gov-ernment’s national priori-ties concerning renewableenergy development.

There is not only a needfor competence improve-ment, but also a need toupdate and complementnational statistical data on sectoral energy usage.Therefore, the project aimsto collect data on house-hold energy consumptionpatterns and their impacton livelihoods, and data onenergy use in the industry,agriculture and trans-portation sectors. The datawill be used to develop en-

ergy planning models whichsuit the Laotian circum-stances. These activitieswill be carried out in closecooperation with variousministries of the Govern-ment of Lao PDR. Increasedcompetence among theministries will be achievedthrough training in energymodel development and its use in energy planning.Thereafter, energy scenar-ios will be created togetherwith the ministries to facili-tate the planning of futureenergy development andenergy policies in the coun-try.

The project objective isto increase the competenceof various ministry expertson sustainable energy plan-ning and to influence thedecision-making processestowards more sustainableenergy planning in the future.

Only 30% of the popula-tion in the Phongsaly re-gion in Northern Lao PDRhave access to electricity.This is far below the na-tional rate of 60%. Thehilly region has many waterways and is subjectto frequent monsoons,

making the hydroelectricpotential high.

Electriciens sans Fron-tieres and Comin KhmereCompany aim to give 24 poorvillages in the Phongsalyregion access to electricityby introducing pico-hydroturbines. As the villages

Sustainable energy planning

are very isolated, they cannot be connected to aregular electricity networkand therefore, there is aneed for these autonomousinstallations.

Capacity-building is acentral part of the project.Villagers will, from both a

theoretical and a practicalpoint of view, be trained inhow to select and installpico-hydro turbines andgrids. During the trainingsessions, two pico-hydro turbines will be installed ineach village. At the end ofthe project, each village willhave a team of trained tech-nicians who will be able toanalyse technical problemsand maintain the turbines.

The project intends tobenefit around 365 familiesin the 24 villages, providingan average of 100 W of powersource to each family. Thiswill help reduce the use ofkerosene lamps and candles,and consequently improvethe families’ health condi-tions and living standards.

Training of Lao PDR provincial authorities.

Pico-hydro turbines introduced in 24 rural villages

A group of villagers are adjusting the water intake.

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In Vietnam, there is a lotof biomass feedstock avail-able that can be used as fuelfor energy production.However, using crop resi-dues as fuel to produce energy has been problem-atic, mainly because energyplant investors are con-cerned about the reliabilityof getting biomass fuel allyear round. Other problemsinclude lack of knowledgeregarding biomass energytechnologies and lack ofdemonstration projectsthat use biomass as fuel.

The Institute of Energytogether with the VTTTechnical Research Centreof Finland will implementa project that will developand demonstrate an effec-tive and reliable biomasssupply chain based on multi-fuel for combined heat andpower (CHP) plants.

The project is dividedinto several parts. First of all, the existing supplytechnologies will be ana-lysed and appropriate supply technologies and

Household biogas technol-ogy has been promoted bya number of national anddonor-funded programmesin Vietnam in order to treatanimal waste and to pro-vide affordable renewableenergy to farmers. Atpresent, more than 10,000household composite bio-gas (HCB) plants are beingused in Vietnam. TheseHCB systems are producedby a number of Vietnamesemanufacturers based onChinese designs. HCBplants have a number ofadvantages over othertypes of biogas plants,such as being suitable forweak soil and for highground water table. Theyhave long life spans andthey are moveable. How-ever, non-optimisation ofHCB plants designs andlack of operation guide-lines significantly reducethe plants’ efficiency. Inaddition, inappropriate operation causes environ-mental pollution and dis-qualifies Vietnam’s HCBplants from the Clean Development Mechanism(CDM) scheme.

The Sustainable EnergyDevelopment ConsultancyJS Company (SEDDC) and

the Energy Environmentand Climate Change Ltd.Company (ENCC) are im-plementing a project thatwill improve the existinghousehold biogas techno-logy. The design of theHCB plants will be revisedand 200 optimised HCBplants will be producedand installed for demon-stration. Installation guide-lines will be prepared forthe HCB producers andend-users will be providedwith an operation manual.These activities will helpoptimise the efficiency ofthe HCB plants and thusreduce environmental pollution and help ensurethat the plants can qualifyfor the CDM scheme.

To disseminate infor-mation about the opti-mised designs, a workshopwill be organised amongrelevant stakeholders.After the workshop, theproject documents includ-ing optimised designs, in-stallation guidelines andoperation manuals will bedisseminated to the Min-istry of Agriculture andRural Development and to other national biogasprogrammes.

systems will be developed.Then the new biomass sup-ply system, based on multi-fuel, will be studied throughseveral case studies. There-after, one of the case stud-ies will be demonstrated inpractice and the outcomewill be analysed. The re-sults will be disseminatedthrough seminars andbrochures.

The project will improveincome generation frombiomass, increase biomassuse in CHP plants, and re-duce the use of coal for en-ergy production resultingin a reduction in the importof coal. In addition, the en-vironmental impact of bio-mass will be reduced, sincethe biomass will no longerbe burnt in open fires ordumped in rivers. In thelong term, Vietnam willbenefit from a functionalbiomass production andsupply system as it willhelp the country achieve its renewable energy tar-gets.

Development of a biomass multi-fuel

supply chain

Vietnam

Rice husk: from producer to consumer.

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A household biogas digester is being installed.

Improvement of householdbiogas technology

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a long life cycle of theequipment and to capturemaximum energy out of the water flows.

During implementation,participants in the projectwill analyse the current sit-uation for the independentpower producers and reviewnational and internationalincentives for the develop-ment of environmentallyfriendly projects. There-after, the participants willestimate the potential reduc-tion of greenhouse gasemissions of the project andrecommend the most suit-able mechanism to obtainadditional revenues neces-sary for the viability of theproject. A project designdocument for the Clean Development Mechanismwill be developed. Then ne-gotiations for the sale of thecarbon credits can start. Theincentives and the carbon finance element will be integrated in the financialstructure of the project.

To ensure that resultsand solutions of the projectare made available to otherindependent power produc-ers, the participants willrecord their experiencesthroughout the project anda guidebook for independentpower producers will be developed.

Carbonium, the Institute ofEnergy and Phuc KhanhJSC aim to set up an inno-vative financing schemefor a hydropower plant inthe Lao Cai province innorthern Vietnam. Eventhough the electrificationrate in the country is rela-tively high, the northernareas are not yet fully cov-ered. The hydropower po-tential in these areas is high.

Vietnam’s hydropowertechnology is relativelymature; therefore, innova-tion in project design liesmainly within the finan-cing scheme. Independenthydropower producersgenerally face two prob-lems. First of all, the avail-ability of necessary waterflows is irregular, reduc-ing the hydropower plants’reliability. Secondly, theeconomic viability of small-scale hydro projects is sub-ject to feed-in tariffs whichare based on subsidisedconsumer prices. These twoissues create financial andtechnological barriers formany independent powerproducers. To tackle theseobstacles, the project willestablish financial andtechnological conditionsthat will allow the projectto be viable. In addition,high quality technology willbe integrated to guarantee

Medium and large sized farmsare the fastest growing seg-ment of the livestock pro-duction sector in Vietnam.They generate significantlevels of waste, pollute wa-terways and release millionsof tonnes of greenhouse gasinto the atmosphere. SNVNetherlands DevelopmentOrganisation, together withthe Institute of Energy (IE),the Global Energy Consul-tancy Investment and Trad-ing Company (GECI) andStockholm EnvironmentalInstitute (SEI) are imple-menting a pilot project thatwill develop a sustainablecommercial medium-scalebiogas digester market in Vietnam.

To stimulate an accessiblemedium-scale digesters mar-ket in the country, the pro-ject aims to introduce a cost-effective plug-flow biogas digester at 10 farms. Thebiogas digester will solvethe manure managementproblem of medium-size

farms, while providinggas and electricity, andsupporting the reductionof carbon emissions.

The four project part-ners have developed a newpublic-private partnershipand were specifically chosen to enable the pilotproject to have the optimalmarket introduction, tech-nology and a sustainableproject approach. The newplug-flow technology wasdeveloped by the IE, whowill certify the technologyfor the Vietnamese mar-ket, thereby making it apublic intellectual property,which can be adopted byother companies.

The project will link tokey stakeholders, such asgovernment departments,research institutes, theprivate sector and NGOsthrough the Biogas Na-tional Steering Committeeand the Vietnam BiogasAssociation.

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A hydroelectric power station in Vietnam

Most manure is currently deposited in open lagoons. Methane is emitted from the lagoons and the overflows end up in rivers,

polluting the groundwater.

Stimulating a commercial biogas digester market

in Vietnam

Innovative financing schemeset up for hydropower plant

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Solar power technology will provide

communities with water

The Population and Com-munity Development Asso-ciation (PDA), GrundfosHolding A/S and the JointGraduate School of Energyand Environment (JGSEE)are implementing a projectin the Mekong countriesthat combines renewablesolar energy technologywith water supply systems.

Many villages in theMekong region are stillwithout electricity and sat-isfactory water supply.Therefore, there is a largepotential for local solar-powered water supply sys-tems. The inherent advan-tages of these types of systems are that water ispumped up to storage tanksduring day-time hours allo-wing gravitational force todistribute water to userswithout the need of costlytransportation of energy

and water. The pilot pro-ject will not only focus onthe technology aspects butwill also put strong em-phasis on community par-ticipation. The objective ofthe project is to promoterenewable energy, miti-gate climate change andalleviate poverty, henceimprove the selected com-munities’ quality of life.

The implementation ofthe project will be carriedout in eight communities,four in northeastern Thai-land, two in Cambodia andtwo in Lao PDR. Trainingand dissemination activi-ties will also reach out toparticipants from Vietnam.Project results will be dis-seminated through meet-ings, seminars, media andpublications ensuring outreach far beyond thedirect beneficiaries.

Multi-fuel biomass utilisation plan to be developed for the Mekong countries

The project aims to increase thefarming of non-food biomass

such as elephant grass.

Villagers will participate in the construction, operation and maintenance of the solar-powered water systems.

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Solid biomasses are not fullyutilised in EEP Mekong coun-tries. Wiltrain Consulting Oy,together with seven part-ners Prince of Songkla University of Thailand, VTTTechnical Research Centreof Finland, ENERTEAM,Jyväskylä University, STFECo. Ltd., National Univer-sity of Laos, and COMPEDwill implement a project thataims to develop a multi-fuelbiomass utilisation planfor the Mekong countries.

The project is strategy-driven and includes severalactivities. Among otherthings, the project will ex-plore the potential of usingseveral alternative bio-masses as fuels in new bio-mass power plants. Therestrictions for arable landusage in non-food biomassproduction will be analysedand the obstacles for bio-mass utilisation and energy

entrepreneurship in the dif-ferent countries will be dis-cussed. In addition, biomassenergy clusters in the re-gion will be identified tofind possible synergies. Furthermore, plans will bedeveloped for the region regarding combustion re-search on local biomassesand capacity-building onmulti-fuel biomass usage.

The project will have positive impact on the envi-ronment as it promotes theuse of solid biomasses as a fuel for energy generationthus increasing the use of renewable energy andconsequently reducingdependence on fossil fuels.

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NORDIC DEVELOPMENT FUND

The Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) Programme with the Mekong region is funded by theMinistry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Nordic Development Fund. EEP offers grants to promotethe use of renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean technologies.

Four regional EEP Programmes are now in operation, in the Andean region, in Central America, in the Mekong region and in southern and east Africa. In addition, there is one national EEP Programmein Indonesia. The EEP network provides an excellent framework for north-south and south-south collaboration. Dissemination and exchange of information through thematic forums and web pages are important modes of EEP's communication.

More information about the Partnership and the Calls for Proposals is available at

www.eepmekong.orgwww.finland.or.th/en

www.ndf.fi

or through mail at eepmekong@eepmekong.org

As of 15 October 2011*