Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The Handbook for practitioners and decision makers seeks to raise awareness among utility managers, decision makers, and other stakeholders of the importance and benefits of developing robust operation and maintenance (OandM) strategies for existing and greenfield hydropower plants. This handbook also aims at providing guidance for owners in preparing and implementing a long-term OandM strategy, defined as an informed set of high-level information (including a diagnosis) and decisions towards effective and safe OandM of hydropower facilities, including (i) objectives to be reached, (ii) activities and organizational decisions to reach these objectives and (iii) adequate resources (human, financial...). Through eight steps, this handbook proposes a framework and processes to establish an OandM strategy adapted to local contexts. It also presents the basic principles of OandM for hydropower and provides examples of the consequences of inadequate OandM policies, programs, and procedures. The handbook was developed along and benefited from the lessons learned of six case-studies in Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Liberia, Uganda, and Uruguay/Argentina and which are depicted in the companion report Operation and Maintenance Strategies for Hydropower: Six Case Studies. They gather examples and lessons learned from the implementation of OandM strategies, while sharing views on remaining challenges and future directions.

Energy --- Energy Finance --- Energy Policies and Economics --- Hydro Power --- Hydropower

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

As the world's fastest-growing local energy technology, distributed photovoltaics (DPV) has upended the traditional paradigm of one-way power flow from the grid to consumers. Solar electricity systems located close to grid consumers known here as DPV empower consumers to produce electricity for themselves and for the grid. Thanks mainly to falling PV costs, DPV has become a viable way to meet energy needs for a widening array of consumers. Worldwide, installed capacity of DPV exploded from just a few megawatts (MW) in 2000 to 250 gigawatts (GW) in 2019; and it is forecast to exceed 500 GW by 2025. Poorly managed, DPV scale-up can then erode utility finances and interfere with grid operation. Yet, as explained in this report, well-managed DPV can benefit not only DPV owners but also contribute to reliable grid operation and a financially sound electricity sector. DPV offers multiple types of benefits relevant for low- and middle-income countries, especially when it can reduce electricity costs and widespread dependence on diesel generators. This report is an overview of DPV in different country contexts, and it is aimed at energy ministries and other decision-makers. Chapter 1 introduces key concepts and the recent status of the DPV market. It also highlights key potential value propositions of DPV for different stakeholders, including consumers, utilities, governments, and society as a whole. Chapter 2 presents nine specific ways in which distributed photovoltaics (PV) is or could be used to solve problems faced in low and middle-income country contexts.

Energy --- Energy and Environment --- Energy Policies and Economics --- Solar Energy

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The recent advances in battery technology and reductions in battery costs have brought battery energy storage systems (BESS) to the point of becoming increasingly cost-effective projects to serve a range of power sector interventions, especially when combined with PV and where diesel is the alternative, or where subsidies or incentives are used. Quantifying the economic impact of BESS requires a high level of temporal granularity in the analysis, because the time-steps required for a reliable assessment of costs and benefits are much shorter than the usual annual time steps of many power sector investment projects. In short, there is as yet still limited experience in the economic and financial analysis of BESS investment projects particularly, in developing countries, and one cannot yet set out with clarity what constitutes best international practice. This report sets out the principles and practices of BESS economic analysis as required for the World Bank's appraisal of investment projects that cover the range of BESS projects likely to be encountered by the Bank over the next few years.

Energy --- Energy Policies and Economics --- Renewable Energy --- Solar Energy --- Windpower

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The purpose of this paper is to help stakeholders to understand key factors driving utility-scale solar PV prices and enable good decision-making conducive to healthy development of solar PV sector globally. This analysis allows us to determine whether recently announced prices are realistic under local conditions like insolation, costs of equipment, access to financial markets, and other project-related variables. The authors also discuss whether these prices are sustainable over time and allow further healthy market expansion.

Electric Power --- Energy --- Energy Policies and Economics --- Solar Energy

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

China has developed one of the most comprehensive and effective sets of energy efficiency policies and programs in the world. This has been an arduous task over decades, involving the government, businesses, and civil society. Although success has abounded in many areas, China's programs are not perfect, and the development process has often been one of improving, adjusting, and reinforcing. Some of the strengths of China's effort have been (a) good organization, (b) focus on overcoming implementation difficulties at local levels as well as development of national policies and programs, (c) an effective blending of market-based energy efficiency investment and service mechanisms with new law-based regulations, and (d) investments in institutional development to provide the foundation for long-term gains. The process, experience, and results of the 40-year effort provide an amazingly rich bank of lessons for other countries with aspirations for energy efficiency gains, which this report strives to describe. One of the most telling macro indicators of China's success is the reversal of a trend of increasing energy use per unit GDP beginning in 2006 and continuing thereafter, delinking growth in energy consumption from growth in GDP. Energy use per unit GDP had fallen during the 1980s and 1990s, in part due to energy conservation efforts but mainly due to economic structural change as China's economy began to mature. This changed in the early 2000s, however, as yet more rapid industrial growth brought increases in China's energy intensity. China's leadership recognized that this continued resource-intensive development over the long haul was physically almost impossible, economically inferior, and environmentally unacceptable. With calls to build a less resource-intensive society, the country sharply increased its efforts to improve energy efficiency, building on past programs and adding new ones in a comprehensive effort. The focus was on achieving results. The trend of increasing energy intensity was bent downward, and energy intensity began to decline again, even as rapid industrial and economic growth continued.

Energy --- Energy Demand --- Energy Efficiency --- Energy Policies and Economics --- Energy Sector Regulation