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Planning for Energy Access – the GVEP International Kenya Project Phase 1 of the GVEP International project: The Development of an Energy-Poverty Reduction Action Plan for Kenya, was a capacity development project of UNDP and the Kenyan Government aimed at understanding energy supply and demand issues at village level. The long term objective was to contribute to increased access to modern energy services in Kenya. As part of this, the project developed an energy poverty reduction roadmap. To realize this final output, the project undertook several activities that led to (1) production of a comprehensive energy baseline data for Kenya, (2) assessing energy considerations and linkages in relation to national priorities for development and poverty eradication, and (3) assessing sectoral energy needs and to develop a cross-sectoral energy roadmap. The project was a highly collaborative process and involved several sectoral stakeholders. In Kenya a lot of capacity building took place with the sectoral planning units of the various collaborating players. These included some eight key ministries, NGOs and Jua Kali (artisan) associations among others. The lead implementer and a host of local consultants also benefited. The Ministries represented at the workshops identified the need for even wider capacity building for the planning methodology in future. The key achievements of this project can be summarized as: 1. Development of an energy baseline and the first energy atlas in the country. This atlas is a compilation of the national energy baseline data and information on supply and demand. This went alongside a national stakeholder matrix for energy.
The project was instrumental in building the capacity of collaborating organizations on designing an energy atlas. 2. Development of an analytical framework for assessing the linkages between energy and poverty eradication through a process of a literature review and a planning methodology (in the context of national planning processes). In applying the framework a total of 8 key sectors in fighting poverty were identified: Energy, Health, Education, Environment, Agriculture, Livestock, Trade and Industry, and Water and Irrigation. The major challenge faced, and the most daunting, was the lack of data and information critical in designing the plan and developing the baseline. In most cases only sketchy information was available, in a very poor form and requiring a lot of cleaning, which took much more time than anticipated. A second challenge was the lack of local capacity to undertake the analysis and sectoral-based planning. Among the lessons learned is the need to fully integrate gap analysis and create enough room for data collection during the project design. Another lesson was the need to structure capacity building as a separate component in order to specially build a critical mass in the new planning methodology. In promoting sustainability, replication and/or up-scaling, the project led a group of regional energy experts in developing a regional energy access strategy. The highlights of the strategy are i) how best do we reach out to the 48 million people underserved and unserved in the region? and (ii) what mix of services and technologies are needed to have a high impact and at the same time be low cost and scalable to create a huge impact and meet the MDG targets in terms of energy services.
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Boiling Point. issue 56 — 2009
Enquiry Service is able to call on the expertise of several hundred professionals in technical, economic, and sociological disciplines to help formulate the answers to enquiries - across our offices we receive and answer approximately 300 enquiries a year. We always try to supply information of direct relevance to the individual enquirer’s circumstances and will take into account the non-technical factors that might have a bearing on the use of the technology. Enquiries can me made online or through any of Practical Action’s international offices, see the website for a full list. Enquiries can me made online or through any of Practical Action’s international offices, see the website for a full list. Email: infoserv@practicalaction.org.uk Website: www.practicalaction.org/practicalanswers Practical Action UK Resource Centre The Schumacher Centre for Technology and Development, Bourton on Dunsmore, Rugby, CV23 9QZ, UK Tel: +44 (0)1926 634400, Fax: +44 (0)1926 634401 47