Technical Support to the World Bank, World Bank Group

ANTARES is supporting the Asia Alternative Energy Unit (ASTAE) (South Asia and East Asia regional divisions) of the World Bank. This multi-year effort has involved renewable energy, energy efficiency and demand-side management implementation in the utility sectors of the rapidly developing countries of India, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. Specifically, ANTARES staff has developed and applied a least-cost rural electrification screening tool to evaluate renewable and conventional electrical power technologies. The model is used in World Bank project preparation and is being integrated into a more comprehensive evaluation tool under development by the U.S. Department of Energy. In addition to technical analysis, the ANTARES staff, in association with the host countries, has been instrumental in developing and implementing formal World Bank funding mechanisms that directly support small-scale renewable technology applications at the village level and wider application of demand-side management to limit load growth. Direct staff project involvement includes: mini-hydro and geothermal components of the Indonesia Second Rural Electrification Project; institutional, financial, and technical project design as well as Global Environmental Facility (GEF) support for the Sri Lanka Energy Services Delivery Project; and technical management support of the India Renewable Resources Development Project. Current efforts are focused on the development of rural electrification in Vietnam and Laos.