Solar power generation is an increasingly attractive option for Vietnam thanks to recent cost reductions, fast construction timelines, and the contribution solar power can make to ensuring energy security and environmental sustainability.
... See More + Aiming to scale up solar generation in a sustainable and affordable manner, the Government of Vietnam plans to shift from the feed-in-tariff (FIT) to a competitive bidding mechanism. With the support of the World Bank, the Government of Vietnam is designing the program based on the present strategy developed with input from several ministries, the private sector, and development partners. The strategy presents recommendations to the Government of Vietnam aiming to provide a clear path to develop a sustainable solar program. As part of a carefully designed strategy, decisions must be made in the following areas: (i) the roles and responsibilities of the various public and private parties, (ii) whether changes need to be made to the existing laws and regulations, (iii) the types of deployment schemes that are best suited to Vietnam’s circumstances, and (iv) what risks the Government of Vietnam will internalize and what mitigation instruments it might offer IPPs. The clarification of these points prior to the selection of an IPP will help speed up the IPP selection process, reduce the chances of procurement failure, and provide a long-term vision for deploying solar projects. From the independent power Producers’ (IPPs) perspective, a clear government strategy reduces perceived risks related to a weak or inadequate legal framework, unclear selection process, or other development concerns.
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This research focuses on incorporating a representation of water supply and infrastructure costs into an energy systems model (SATIM-W) to better reflect the interdependent nature of the energy-water nexus in South Africa and the water supply challenges facing the energy system.
... See More + The research methodology developed embeds the various water supply options in a least cost optimization energy planning tool, so that the cost of water is captured. A key feature of the developed SATIM-W model is that it regionalizes power generaation, refining, and energy resource supply, thereby introducing a spatial dimension to the water demands of the energy sector. It also contains a regionalized structure of the basins and delivery infrastructure that would be required to supply the energy sector and assesses the impact of meeting those needs on the cost of supplying water. The results of this investigation demonstrate the process and type of tools that can be employed to examine the energy-water nexus in a national level planning context, and the insights that can be gained from water-smart energy planning. A number of relevant policy scenarios in South Africa were explored, and the results show that specific energy sector policies can have significant implication for both new investment in water supply infrastructure and in some cases can lead to stranded energy and water investments, reinforcing the importance of planning these sectors through a nexus approach. This case study is the first time the cost of water supply has been assessed in a sector wide energy supply expansion plan. By documenting the methodology, the authors aim to help energy sector planners and modelers properly incorporate water constraints in their work.
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There has been a clear need for energy-efficient (EE) technologies that can be applicable in the municipal street lighting sector. The objective of this manual is to support the preparation and implementation of street lighting projects in India, using performance contracting and other public private partnership-based delivery approaches.
... See More + This manual draws upon global best practices, including practices that have been tried and presented within India and South Asia; and draws from their failures and successes to document the major lessons learned. The manual provides a brief overall background of EE in India, the kind of barriers faced in the implementation of EE projects, and the kind of prevalent policy environment for EE in the country. The manual is divided into eight sections. Section one provides an overview of EE street lighting, its components, Indian standards for outdoor lighting, the key lamp technologies, and the potential for intelligent street lighting systems. Section two highlights the financial models for implementation of street lighting projects. Section three describes the essentials of undertaking a detailed energy audit to develop robust baselines. Section four focuses on procurement and contracting. Section five describes methodologies for developing monitoring and verification (M and V) protocols for EE Street lighting projects. Section six brings together the useful tools and matrices in implementation of street lighting projects. Section seven lists the key stakeholders involved in India in such projects and their potential role. Section eight provides details on international and Indian case studies on implementing EE in street lighting and key lessons from these case examples.
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Every year an estimated seventy percent of Tajikistan's population suffers from severe electricity shortages in winter. The energy sector was affected by dramatic changes over the last few decades - regional energy cooperation was disrupted after the break-up of the Soviet Union, gas imports were interrupted, and the state was unable to invest adequately in the maintenance of the national energy infrastructure.
... See More + Tajikistan has been facing severe power shortages in winter months since the district heating system collapsed and households as a consequence started to use electricity for heating purposes. This report assesses energy deprivation in Tajikistan with an emphasis on the human dimension, paying special attention to rural areas. It takes a broad look at household energy security, affordability, and coping mechanisms, in order to inform short and medium-term policies to mitigate energy deprivation. Firstly, it analyzes energy use and spending patterns across diverse groups of consumers, low and middle-income, rural and urban, people who live in houses and those who live in apartments, as the type of energy used determines household vulnerability. Secondly, it examines impacts of energy expenses on the household budget, and strategies adopted to cope with energy payments. Thirdly, it collects consumer attitudes towards potential measures to improve energy security and affordability, such as social assistance and support to improve energy efficiency. It explores the conditions under which an electricity tariff increase would gain acceptance among consumers. Fourthly and lastly, the report simulates the quasi-fiscal impact and the targeting performance of a series of measures that could cushion the impact of rising energy expenditure.
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Every year an estimated seventy percent of Tajikistan's population suffers from severe electricity shortages in winter. The energy sector was affected by dramatic changes over the last few decades - regional energy cooperation was disrupted after the break-up of the Soviet Union, gas imports were interrupted, and the state was unable to invest adequately in the maintenance of the national energy infrastructure.
... See More + Tajikistan has been facing severe power shortages in winter months since the district heating system collapsed and households as a consequence started to use electricity for heating purposes. This report assesses energy deprivation in Tajikistan with an emphasis on the human dimension, paying special attention to rural areas. It takes a broad look at household energy security, affordability, and coping mechanisms, in order to inform short and medium-term policies to mitigate energy deprivation. Firstly, it analyzes energy use and spending patterns across diverse groups of consumers, low and middle-income, rural and urban, people who live in houses and those who live in apartments, as the type of energy used determines household vulnerability. Secondly, it examines impacts of energy expenses on the household budget, and strategies adopted to cope with energy payments. Thirdly, it collects consumer attitudes towards potential measures to improve energy security and affordability, such as social assistance and support to improve energy efficiency. It explores the conditions under which an electricity tariff increase would gain acceptance among consumers. Fourthly and lastly, the report simulates the quasi-fiscal impact and the targeting performance of a series of measures that could cushion the impact of rising energy expenditure.
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Tajikistan has a vast unmet demand for electricity and severe load shedding occurs. Despite high connection rates (99 percent), approximately seventy percent of the population, predominantly in rural areas and small towns, faces severe electricity shortages each winter.
... See More + Demand for electricity is unusually high in Tajikistan because there are limited alternative options for heating, especially in urban areas. Addressing winter energy shortages requires measures to reduce domestic demand, increase domestic supply, and expand regional electricity trade. Consumer acceptability of further measures to promote cost recovery in the energy sector appears to be affected by poor service quality and the lack of transparency on the flow of revenues and expense of Barki Tajik, the main electricity utility provider in Tajikistan. The evidence for developing a well-informed energy strategy for the residential sector in Tajikistan is hampered by a lack of detailed understanding of how households currently are affected by energy deprivation and how this differs across population groups. This study aims at identifying and assessing options for improving household energy security and affordability in the short term and medium term, with a particular focus on low and middle income households in rural and also in urban areas in Tajikistan. Data for this study were collected in the field during the spring and summer of 2013 and include both qualitative and quantitative information. The report is structured as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two describes recent developments in the energy sector since independence and presents energy consumption patterns in residential and social buildings. Chapter three discusses seasonal household energy expenditures across a range of population groups and willingness to pay for higher tariffs. Chapter four describes the prevalent strategies households use in order to cope with energy costs, as well as willingness and capacity to engage in energy saving measures. Chapter five discusses available social assistance programs and options for further mitigation of electricity tariff increase. Chapter six presents results from policy simulations of different tariff increase scenarios and social assistance measures and discusses the pros and cons of policy options. Chapter seven summarizes key findings and policy recommendations.
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Sub-Saharan Africa's persistent power shortages act as a severe constraint on its economic and human development. Over the last several years, a series of major offshore gas discoveries in Mozambique and Tanzania have rekindled interest in expanding the use of natural gas to address the continent's power shortages.
... See More + Once thought of as a Nigeria-only story, gas-to power in Sub-Saharan Africa is now being considered in a continent-wide context, both as a supplement to Africa's abundant hydropower resources and as a replacement for more carbon intensive coal and liquid fuels. But the concentration of gas resources in just a few countries and the virtual absence of gas transportation infrastructure create economic challenges to the wider adoption of gas as a power generation fuel, particularly in smaller countries that cannot achieve economies of scale in gas production and transportation. As a result, the timeline between the discovery of gas and its commercialization is often measured in decades. This study examines the economic conditions facing policy makers, planners, and commercial actors with a stake in gas-to-power development in Sub-Saharan Africa. It looks at the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments of the gas value chain to identify where the economics align in favor of gas-to-power development and where they do not.
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The Arab countries have enjoyed sustained economic growth in recent years, and the high economic growth has triggered a rapid increase in energy demand, particularly for electricity.
... See More + Besides enabling energy imports, interconnected power networks impart a series of additional benefits such as improved system reliability, reduced reserve margins, reactive power support, and energy exchanges that take advantage of daily and seasonal demand diversity and disparities in marginal production costs. As a result, a world-class electricity supply system can be achieved with much lower capital expenditures and ongoing expenses than will otherwise be attainable on an individual-country basis. The regional power interconnection of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), allows electricity exchange among its six member states: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman under an agreement signed in 2009. The interconnection is targeted at sharing capacity reserve and improving supply reliability, which will reduce the need for investment in new generation capacity. This study, which focuses on the development of the institutional and regulatory framework for electricity trade in the Arab world, is one of three currently being carried out by the League of Arab States (LAS) on the development of regional electricity markets (REMs): part one: study of interconnections of electrical systems in the Arab world; part two: study of electricity-gas trade among the Arab countries; and part three: study of institutional and regulatory frameworks. This study focuses on the institutional and regulatory aspects of cross-border trade and electricity market integration among the 22 LAS member countries, and between the Arab countries and potential neighboring markets. This study comprises two phases. Phase one, is main report (volume one), examines regional market structure and design. Phase two (volume 2) examines principles of market regulations and legal arrangements including a draft road map for a transition path toward market integration and governance documentation including drafts memorandum of understanding, general agreement, general pan Arab electricity market agreement, and regional grid code.
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A scenario with higher oil prices has important implications for diverting from oil-based technologies to renewables, as well as gas, coal, and nuclear alternatives.
... See More + By 2030, energy demand in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is expected to double from 2008 levels. A key issue is deciding on the most appropriate mix of fuels for power generation, given the various prices of energy sources and technologies, as well as availability of renewable energy. The study's broad aim is to evaluate the impact of higher oil prices on the cost of generating electricity in countries of the LAC region so that better-informed energy policy planners can buffer future adverse effects. The study defines high oil prices as those above United States (U.S.) $100 per barrel. This price is considered a reasonable starting point for discussion given the recent range in oil prices, which averaged $95 a barrel in 2011. A price of $150 per barrel is defined as considerably high yet plausible given historical and current price levels, available forecasts, and other potential price drivers. The study's specific objectives are to: (i) analyze the economic effects of higher oil prices on LAC countries, particularly oil importers; (ii) assess the short-term impact on electricity generation costs based on the composition of generation matrices across countries of the region; and (iii) quantify the long term impact on electricity costs if countries modify the composition of their generation matrices in response to higher oil prices. This report is organized as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two presents the framework for analyzing the impact of higher oil prices, including an overview of recent price trends, major drivers of oil and gas prices, and a medium-term scenario under which higher prices might occur. Chapter three analyzes the impact of higher oil prices on LAC countries. Chapter four focuses on the short-term impact of higher oil prices on the electricity sector and the potential impact on the cost of generation, depending on the planning decisions made for future electricity generation. Finally, chapter five offers policy makers recommendations on the relevance of considering the potential impact of higher oil prices on countries' fiscal and trade balances, the cost of electricity to final consumers, and the impact that such cost may have on the competitiveness of their productive sector.
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Energy Study 85008 DEC 01, 2013
Yepez-Garcia, Rigoberto Ariel; Portes, Luis San Vicente; Garcia, Luis EnriqueDisclosed
Indonesia's household cooking fuels have undergone a dramatic shift in recent years, owing primarily to the government's highly successful Kerosene-to- Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Conversion Program; yet the impact in poorer rural areas has been limited.
... See More + Switching to LPG, electricity, and other modern fuels would be the most effective way to achieve clean cooking solutions, but these fuels are expensive, requiring costly stoves and delivery infrastructure that are beyond reach for most rural households. By contrast, many types of biomass can be freely collected from the local environment or purchased for significantly less than other fuels. Thus, large-scale fuel switching in rural areas is unlikely to occur until rural economies become substantially more developed. This means that an estimated 40 percent of households will continue to rely on traditional biomass energy, especially fuel wood, to meet their daily cooking needs for years to come. This report is structured according to the directional organization of the study. Chapter two presents an overview of household cooking fuels in Indonesia, including policy changes and other factors that influence fuel choices. Chapter three examines an array of stove supply side issues, including market and production capacity, popular stove models, limitations of business models, key features of the supply chain, and attitudes toward new stoves. Chapter four identifies gaps in policies and institutional strengthening that future intervention programs will need to fill and reviews lessons from successful programs promoting clean cooking solutions that can be applied to those focused on clean biomass cooking. Finally, chapter five presents the recommended implementation strategy, including an innovative financing approach, and the next steps in helping Indonesia move toward universal access to clean cooking solutions by 2030.
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Armenia's energy sector has achieved a level of electricity reliability, service quality and efficiency of sector operations that stands out among countries participating in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
... See More + Much of this can be attributed to a decade of regulatory reform including a long-standing commitment to cost-recovery tariffs. The study is structured as follows: section one provides definitions of the key terms used and a background on the current tariff setting process in Armenia. Section two indicates how far tariffs have departed from cost-recovery levels and what costs have not been covered as a result. Section three describes how new investments will affect the average cost of service and the average residential tariff. Section four proposes a marginal cost-based tariff structure and explains why this differs from the current tariff structure. Section five discusses the poverty and social impact of tariff increases needed to cover new investments in 2021. Section six identifies options for subsidization and mitigating rate shock that will help transition to higher, marginal cost-based tariffs. Finally, section seven summarizes conclusions and recommendations of the analysis.
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This report presents the findings of a study aiming to define the least cost short (up to 2015) and medium term (up to 2020) measures that the Government of Bulgaria (GoB) can implement to meet gas security of supply requirements seen in the light of Bulgaria's vulnerability to gas supply disruptions and its increasingly important role for regional gas cross-border transmission and trade.
... See More + Bulgarian gas demand is of modest size (3.0 bcm in 2011) and natural gas only plays a small role in Bulgaria's energy mix (14 percent of the total primary energy supply). Over the next ten years gas demand patterns are likely to change, however, and consumption levels are expected to grow steadily. The growth rate of gas demand and its importance in the supply mix will be driven by choices of electricity generation strategy and the rate of household gasification. There is a significant risk that a gas-focused electricity strategy would reduce Bulgaria's overall security of supply. However, this would only be the case if the new gas supply was contracted from the same sources and routes as the existing contracts (from Russia via Ukraine) and if the gas-fired power plants did not have back-up fuels. Conversely, if Bulgaria is able to secure new gas contracts from other sources delivered via new routes, and if back-up fuels are provided at those plants, then Bulgaria could increase its gas consumption while increasing its overall energy security of supply. This issue is at the core of the present report.
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The main objective of this sector work (ESW) is to provide the World Bank and the Government of Togo with a sound basis and proposals for decision-making about the main electricity sub-sector issues facing the country.
... See More + The ESW therefore assesses the key challenges facing the sub-sector and provides information, analysis and recommendations regarding: 1) the overall energy policy and strategy framework; 2) the institutional and regulatory framework including the necessary reforms within the context of Togo's regional undertakings; 3) the electricity demand and supply balance including access to electricity services; 4) electricity tariffing; 5) the investment program and the financing requirements; and 6) the utility's financial situation and the sub-sector financial outlook. The review also summarizes recommendations addressing the key issues facing Togo's electricity sub-sector. Togo will need to confront several constraints to promote economic recovery and reduce poverty. Weak public sector capacity has become the Government's most pressing challenge and is hampering the country's ability to manage the rapidly expanding portfolio of projects funded by the donors, including by the World Bank Group and the private sector. While the private sector's contribution to economic growth is vital, Togo's business climate is poor and skills available on the market are not adapted to the demand. This report is based on the information provided, discussions with officials during the April 10-13, 2012 mission to Lome, exchanges with World Bank staff, as well as on the recent reports on Togo's energy sector.
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The main objective of this sector work (ESW) is to provide the World Bank and the Government of Togo with a sound basis and proposals for decision-making about the main electricity sub-sector issues facing the country.
... See More + The ESW therefore assesses the key challenges facing the sub-sector and provides information, analysis and recommendations regarding: 1) the overall energy policy and strategy framework; 2) the institutional and regulatory framework including the necessary reforms within the context of Togo's regional undertakings; 3) the electricity demand and supply balance including access to electricity services; 4) electricity tariffing; 5) the investment program and the financing requirements; and 6) the utility's financial situation and the sub-sector financial outlook. The review also summarizes recommendations addressing the key issues facing Togo's electricity sub-sector. Togo will need to confront several constraints to promote economic recovery and reduce poverty. Weak public sector capacity has become the Government's most pressing challenge and is hampering the country's ability to manage the rapidly expanding portfolio of projects funded by the donors, including by the World Bank Group and the private sector. While the private sector's contribution to economic growth is vital, Togo's business climate is poor and skills available on the market are not adapted to the demand. This report is based on the information provided, discussions with officials during the April 10-13, 2012 mission to Lome, exchanges with World Bank staff, as well as on the recent reports on Togo's energy sector.
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Indonesia's household cooking fuels have undergone a dramatic shift in recent years, owing primarily to the government's highly successful Kerosene-to- Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Conversion Program; yet the impact in poorer rural areas has been limited.
... See More + Switching to LPG, electricity, and other modern fuels would be the most effective way to achieve clean cooking solutions, but these fuels are expensive, requiring costly stoves and delivery infrastructure that are beyond reach for most rural households. By contrast, many types of biomass can be freely collected from the local environment or purchased for significantly less than other fuels. Thus, large-scale fuel switching in rural areas is unlikely to occur until rural economies become substantially more developed. This means that an estimated 40 percent of households will continue to rely on traditional biomass energy, especially fuel wood, to meet their daily cooking needs for years to come. This report is structured according to the directional organization of the study. Chapter two presents an overview of household cooking fuels in Indonesia, including policy changes and other factors that influence fuel choices. Chapter three examines an array of stove supply side issues, including market and production capacity, popular stove models, limitations of business models, key features of the supply chain, and attitudes toward new stoves. Chapter four identifies gaps in policies and institutional strengthening that future intervention programs will need to fill and reviews lessons from successful programs promoting clean cooking solutions that can be applied to those focused on clean biomass cooking. Finally, chapter five presents the recommended implementation strategy, including an innovative financing approach, and the next steps in helping Indonesia move toward universal access to clean cooking solutions by 2030.
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This report consists of three sections of policy notes. The first section provides proceedings from the conference on the Clean Energy Ministerial held in New Delhi, India on April 18, 2013 and also a pre-event on Clean Energy Conference held in New Delhi, India in December 2012.
... See More + Reports on South - South - North Knowledge Exchange (SSNKE) Facility, which is among the key cross cutting initiatives of the Clean Energy Ministerial, are provided. The second section concerns the point of view on the Government of India's request to provide comments on proposed additional legal provisions for performance review of electricity regulators. The third section reviews the new competitive bidding guidelines of the Government of India for power generating stations. The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) is a high-level global forum to promote policies and programs that advance clean energy technology, to share lessons learned and best practices, and to encourage the transition to a global clean energy economy. At the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference of parties in Copenhagen in December 2009, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that he would host the first Clean Energy Ministerial to bring together ministers with responsibility for clean energy technologies from the worlds major economies and ministers from a select number of smaller countries that are leading in various areas of clean energy. Currently, the 23 governments participating in CEM initiatives are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and collectively account for 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and 90 percent of global clean energy investment.
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The structure of this report reflects the directional organization of the study. Chapter two offers a detailed descriptive analysis of national- and regional-level household fuelwood use, supplemented by a detailed analysis of fuelwood consumption and expenditure among rural and peri-urban households.
... See More + Chapter three discusses the health and gender-related issues linked to Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) exposure resulting from use of energy-inefficient cook stoves. A detailed analysis of potential exposure and risk factors is given as an example, using data from the case study. Chapter four analyzes household demand for cook stoves and the supply chain in the case study area, while chapter five presents the intervention strategy to promote improved cook stoves. Chapter six proposes a complementary pilot project for promoting the use of household biogas systems utilizing an alternative financing approach. Finally, chapter seven concludes.
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This paper analyzes the economic, distributional, and environmental impact that energy subsidy reductions and alternative compensating mechanisms might have in Mexico.
... See More + To achieve that goal, author use a computable general equilibrium model of the Mexican economy. They make several important changes to the original model to build the energy subsidies (to gasoline, diesel, electricity and liquefied petroleum gas) into the benchmark and then do an array of simulations to see the effects of removing such subsidies. The report results for 2012, which is the initial year; 2018, which will be the end of the next administration; and 2024 and 2030, which represent the medium and long term, respectively. When doing the simulations, author look at possible compensation mechanisms and analyze the impact on the income groups that may be affected by the reduction of energy subsidies.
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Twenty million people in Central America cook with biomass using open fires or rudimentary stoves. The number of people using biomass for cooking in the region will remain significant for a long time due to high incidence of poverty, high Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices coupled with unsustainable LPG subsidies, as well as relatively easy access to fuel wood in the region.
... See More + Providing these people with clean and efficient cooking solutions is not just an energy issue, but one related to poverty, gender inequality, public health, environmental sustainability, local employment, climate change, agriculture, and local employment. A new generation of improved biomass cook stoves (ICS) has recently become available in Central America. The economic benefits from improving public health, reducing deforestation, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions well outweigh the costs of ICS dissemination. Efforts involving donor agencies, governments, non-governmental organizations, as well as local entrepreneurs have been made to disseminate ICS in the region in the last 10 years. The objective of this study is to better understand current developments in clean and efficient biomass cooking solutions, factors that have precluded a larger penetration of ICS within the region, and lessons learned from past programs-both in the region and in other countries-that may be relevant to Central America. The study recommends key actions that may help the region step up its current dissemination efforts and promote sustained use of ICS, a first step toward universal access to ICS by fuel wood users. Its intended audience includes different stakeholders, including government agencies, regional and international organizations, as well as various implementing entities who are thinking or rethinking appropriate technologies, policy interventions, financing, and delivery mechanisms for Central America to promote ICS.
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Governments of mineral-rich countries formulate and use a variety of financial imposts to collect a share of the revenue generated by mining companies.
... See More + Instruments include the full range of taxes, fees, and charges that generally apply to all normal commercial operations. In addition to these measures, most governments use mineral royalties along with variations to the corporate taxation measures, customs duties, and value-added taxes that apply just to mining. This sourcebook focuses on mineral royalties and on other taxation measures that are specific to mining activities, with particular emphasis on imposts of common application in most developing countries, which may create challenges in their administration. The legislative framework establishing these taxes in developing countries that are experiencing an accelerated pace of resource development is in most cases relatively modern and largely adequate, but the supporting administrative capability, procedures, and systems have tended to lag behind. This sourcebook presents a practical overview of how to analyze and improve the administrative frameworks and systems for mineral royalties and other taxes specific to mining. This sourcebook provides a structured approach to help the ministries of finance and mines analyze and improve their effectiveness and efficiency in handling common issues and challenges; avoid duplication of effort; and overcome the organizational, structural, and resourcing difficulties generally encountered in the administration of various elements of mining regimes.
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