Reliable and affordable off-grid electricity services for the poor : concept note - IEG learning product (English)

The purpose of this learning product is to provide a synthesis of findings, good practices, and lessons from the Bank Group’s support for off-grid electrification. This synthesis will be based mainly on the Independent Evaluation Group’s (IEG) sector ...  See More + The purpose of this learning product is to provide a synthesis of findings, good practices, and lessons from the Bank Group’s support for off-grid electrification. This synthesis will be based mainly on the Independent Evaluation Group’s (IEG) sector and project-level evaluations on the subject. In recent years, IEG’s evaluation of the World Bank Group’s experience with rural electrification (IEG 2008) examined the experience with off-grid electrification as part of national electrification strategies. Since then, there has been a big shift in the technical, economic, and institutional conditions for off-grid electrification across the world, including in the Bank Group’s client countries. The recent IEG evaluation World Bank Group Support to Electricity Access FY2000–2014 (IEG 2015a) recognizes the increasing complementary role of off-grid electrification in parallel with the expansion of the traditional electricity grid. These findings are backed by detailed analyses of the Bank experiences with off-grid electrification through literature reviews, and desk- and field-based studies of projects with significant off-grid components. The Bank Group’s directions paper (World Bank 2013) for the energy sector highlights the importance of promoting off-grid electrification, particularly from renewable energy sources, for rapid access scale-up. In this overall setting, this learning product will bring together the detailed evaluation findings and lessons from the available sector and project-level evaluations as inputs to Bank Group strategies and operations in this regard.  See Less -