Scaling up Off Grid Energy in Rwanda Project - Funds for final Audit of SOGER Scaling up Grid Energy in Rwanda Project GVEP has applied Sida  funds to carry out the "Scaling up Off-Grid Energy in Rwanda (SOGER) Programme" during the period 2016-2019. 

The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to the growth of a sustained market for off-grid renewable energy in Rwanda by 1) supporting private sector to deliver access to modern energy to about 77,500 people in rural areas, in a way that is inclusive of people living in poverty and as a means to drive economic development by creating nearly 7,000 jobs; 2) work towards reducing carbon emissions, thus contributing to better environment, limited climate impacts and greater resilience to environmental impact, and climate change by reducing dependency on unsustainable energy sources that contribute to pollution, and environmental degradation. In relation to the Energy and Farming, introduction of solar powered pumps irrigation systems technology will improve resilience of small farmers to withstand the climate changes in a more climate friendly and cost effective way by allowing farmers to access predictable and adequate water at the place and time when crops need it. Improved resilience to climate change will be ensured through making irrigation systems hydraulic feasible (water availability), well designed (storage capacity; conveyance capacities and control structures) as well as operated (water allocation). The technology will also contribute to protecting the field environment against degradation in the long term and to ensure water and land resources are utilised efficiently and in a sustainable manner. However, the system should be properly designed and managed, because if it is not well managed, the irrigation systems can waste water and energy, deplete or pollute water resources, and fail to produce good crops and cause soil degradation. GVEP International will implement the programme through third parties. An agreement would be signed between the third parties and GVEP while routine of disbursement will be established as well.   

The Scaling up Off grid energy in Rwanda Project total budget is SEK 31,500,000 and all of which shall be contributed only by Sida.  The additional SEK 500,000 has been made to cater for procurement audit and for assessing capacity of GVEP International Rwanda Office. This amount is set out of the budget with Cooperating Partner (GVEP International). The disbursement to GVEP are allocated as follows:1) the first disbursement, which caters the inception period, is allocated SEK 5 100 000; where as the subsequent disbursements, for simplicity reason, are described on yearly basis because where disbursement is required twice a year have been merged, but in the grant agreement the disbursements are based on specific period which they fund. Thus, the subsequent disbursements are reported as follows: the disbursement in the first year of implementation is SEK 11,700,000; where as the disbursement in the second year of implementation is SEK 10,700,000; and lastly the disbursement in the third year of implementation is 3,500,000. 98% av befolkningen på Rwandas landsbygd saknar tillgång till elektricitet, vilket är ett stort hinder för människor som lever i fattigdom att få ett bättre liv. Det övergripande målet med programmet är att stödja och utveckla marknaden av förnybar energi, främst producerad utanför det etablerade elnätet genom att 1) stödja privata sektorn att genom småskaliga produktionssystem leverera elektricitet till ca 77 500 personer på landsbygden samt bidra till jobbskapande och ekonomisk utveckling 2) bidra till att minska koldioxidutsläppen och förbättra miljön genom att minska beroendet av fossilbaserad energi som bidrar till föroreningar och miljöförstöring. Projektet består av tre komponenter: 1) Renewable Energy Small Projects (RESP) facility 2) Pico Hydro project development samt 3) Energy and Farming.  Det bör noteras att projektet endast inkluderar en planeringsfas av komponent 3, och att påföljande pilotverksamhet kräver separat beslut baserat på resultaten av föregående arbete. 

GVEP International kommer att genomföra programmet genom samarbeten med tredje part och avtal kommer att upprättas mellan GVEP och dess samarbetsparter.

Den totala programbudgeten är SEK 31 500 000 med Sverige som enda bidragsgivare. The overall objective of SOGER was to contribute to the growth of a market for off-grid renewable energy in Rwanda. The would be done by supporting the private sector to deliver access to energy to 77,500 people in rural areas, in a way that was inclusive of people living in poverty and as a means to drive economic development by creating 7,000 jobs. The intervention also seeked to develop an enabling environment for the mini-grid sector through creation of knowledge reports and toolkits, through interactions and capacity building with stakeholders, and the development of projects to show proof of concept.
The specific objectives of SOGER were expressed under the two components of the programme: 
1) Renewable Energy Small Projects (RESP) 
2) Small Project or Pico-hydro Projects (SHP).
The specific objective of RESP was to accelerate the development of Renewable Energy Small Projects (RESPs) to deliver access to energy in rural Rwanda. This facility targeted to provide at least seven projects with a package of technical and transactional advisory support services targeting to deliver energy to 11,000 households.
The design of the RESP facility focused on creating a sustainable market for the development of Small Hydro Power and Renewable Energy mini-grids and a “launch-pad” for the scale up of the sector. Projects to be supported under the facility ranged from 50kW to 3MW. It could be greenfield isolated mini-grids (using renewable energy such as solar, small hydro projects, etc.) installling new connections; grid-connected renewable energy mini-grids creating new access and selling to the grid; or grid-extension projects extending the distribution network from the existing generation facilities, provided there was a possibility of reaching out to the communities with no electricity access.
The objective of the Pico-hydro Facility was to accelerate the development of the pico-hydro sector by supporting the development of 30 micro-utilities with a total capacity of 450kW, providing reliable and clean electricity to 22,500 people and at least 35 public institutions, as well as to numerous commercial enterprises.
This facility targeted to work with local, private enterprises/project developers who develop and own the micro-utilities whilst involving the communities. In addition, the facility aimed to support private enterprises/project developers to become commercially sustainable businesses, and to create direct and indirect income opportunities in the communities they serve. The targeted pico-hydro projects were small scale with an average capacity of 41 kW while the major purpose of this component was to lay the foundation for further expansion of the pico-hydro sector through creating an enabling environment and by demonstration effects of the 30 established micro-utilities.