GEF Small Grants Programme

Country:	THAILAND
Grantee:	Border Green Energy Team - BGET (Non-government Organization)
Focal Area:	Climate Change
Op. Program:	OP6 - Promoting the Adoption of Renewable Energy by Removing Barriers and Reducing Implementation Costs
Project Type:	Full
Operational Phase:	OP3 - Y2 (Mar 06 - Feb 07)
Dates:	5/2007 - 4/2009
Grant Amount:	42 229,73 USD
Project Status:	Satisfactorily Completed
Project Types:

Target Population/Location of project:
475 ethnic Karens (284 households) living in three villages in Mae Sod District, and making their living through small-scale agriculture. Despite the government’s promotion of solar energy in the area, there are several locations—including the project villages—that have not been reached, as they are very remote. The project aims to build members’ technical capacity to construct and maintain renewable energy systems.

Planned activities:
1. Collect and share relevant information with stakeholders about planned activities
2. Design and install biogas pits, solar systems and mini-hydro power units
3. Build project members’ technical capacity, especially re: maintenance of solar home systems, and production of solar cookers
4. Evaluate project and disseminate results

Anticipated outputs:
1. Project members have increased capacity, as shown by ability to install and maintain renewable energy systems
2. Annual use of canned gas is reduced 126,700 kg. of CO2; annual expenditure on firewood is reduced THB 225,000
3. Students in remote schools have increased educational capacity as a result of access to energy
4. Solar home systems have measurable longer life

Note: Defects or fractures occurred in several solar home systems within two years of installation; use was rated at 22.5% (168 solar home systems)

Project Results
I. First progress report (November 29, 2007):
Activities undertaken:
1. Research conducted to determine project scope; information used to set goals for project’s energy production capacity
2. Capacity-building activities held re: technical aspects of small-scale renewable energy applications (especially solar home systems and solar cookers)
3. Biogas pits, solar home systems and mini-hydro units designed, procured, and installed

Results of activities:
1. Energy production goals: (1) biogas sufficient to cook lunch for 203 students, (2) 3 kW from mini-hydro unit(s), and (3) 480 W from solar home systems (for lighting)
2. Project members have increased technical and institutional capacity
3. One 8-m^3 biogas completed (and soon to be filled with hog manure)

Project expense: THB 227,108 out of first disbursement of THB 439,737.87

Issues with project implementation:
• Biogas pit leaked at first; this was solved using epoxy glue and aluminum.

II. Second progress report (May 29, 2008):
Activities undertaken:
1. Installing a 4-kw hydro-plant at Baan Mae Woei, Tha Song Yang District
2. Conducting a training course for target community on system maintenance of the hydro-plant and solar home , fabrication of solar oven and solar cookers

Results of activities:

1. The plant was able to supply about 3-kw power to Baan Mae Woei School of 105 students and its faculty for lighting and education.
2. The course was conducted successfully with 29 persons ( 13 women , 16 men) attending

Project expense: THB: 650,577 out of the sum of two disbursements of THB: 867,947.03

Experience and lessons learnt:
The grantee arranged to have a video taken then formatted into CD as a documentary and launched dissemination through local cable TV of Mae Sod District of Tak Province.

Experience and lessons learnt:
• 1. The report referred to a dam construction which caused problems to
?Flood at the dam site
?Accumulation of mud at intake of project hydro plant
?Thrashes of twigs and branches being carried with water current into the generator-stalling the operation of the generator
?Electric pole pulled out , electric wire broken
The following approaches were adopted as solutions:
?Making a channel to let more flow thus relieve water pressure
?Covering the pipe intake with wire mesh and launching a closes watch by community member
?Dismantling the generator and clearing all the thrashes by a project expert
?Replacing electric poles from community contribution
2. Referring back to progress report No. 1. , regarding the leakage of the biogas pit and its respective repair , the grantee furthered that the repair was completed but the school had not continuously filled in hog manure during this summer holidays (March-May). Currently, the school had re-arranged to have students filling in the pit more systematically.

III. Project site visit by the NC and NSC (February 6-7, 2009):
Findings and observation:
One of the three participating villages, Tha Song Yang District’s Baan (village) Mae Woei is home to 50 kareni families, a cultural group long settling in the northern part of the Tenasserim Mountain Range, on the border between Myanmar and Thailand. Nearly all, community members earn their living through growing paddy for consumption and chili for sales. It was confirmed that no chemical substance were applied in the process. As to energy use, household lighting and learning ( through television and radio) were by solar panels, earlier provided by the Ministry of Energy’s Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, daily cooking by fire-woods, pounding paddy for daily consumption by manual energy or water power depending on flowing water condition. At the time of the visit, Baan Mae Woei Schools was seen powered by the 4-kW mini-hydro plant of the project, which was installed and operational since February 2008.

Direct project beneficiaries include 101 students from the village and a few others villages in the vicinity, and nine teachers of the school. Since it was established by a private volunteer organization, the school was excluded from the government’s solar lighting programme , no electricity until GEF SGP intervention.

According to the teachers and community leaders, electricity produced by the project’s mini-hydro was a gift and pride to them. The generated electricity had been used in , and more than enough for educational process ( 10 computers & accessories), lighting and cooking for schools. As to the excessive electricity, the leaders and school staff members planned to use for a community meeting room, now under construction. All that said, the project had resulted in substantial reduction of firewood consumption for lighting and cooking in the school, even though cooking in households was still by fire-woods.

It was remarkable that the forest in project location was comparatively intact, in spite of its over 100-year community settlement. Some opined that political armed struggle in conjunction with difficulty in transportation may have contributed to it. However, witnessing community using flowing water to pound paddy reducing human burden, implied existing conservation awareness and capacity of communities.

At Mae Sod District’s Baan Pa De, another participating village, also home to a cultural group Karen, a biogas facility using hog manure was seen in place at Baan Pa De School. This biogas was to supply cooking gas for some 120 students and staff . The facility was not seen functioning, due to technical error during construction. Besides, recent fluctuating (low) market price of pigs might have caused a delay in repair.

Under time constraint, the visiting team could not pay a visit to the third participating village, Baan Dork Mai Sod, that proposed to demonstrate the use of solar lighting and solar cookers to ensure sustainable fire-wood consumption and avoid incremental emission of green house gas.

b>IV. Mid-course evaluation workdhop (March 20-21, 2009)
Findings and observation:
Together with representatives from other projects of the same grant cycle (from THA/06/13 to THA/06/28), and SGP country team, the project participate in the workshop to update progress , share experience and initiate a network. It was agreed that each project would keep on contacting one another and sharing experience. Contacting addresses were distributed with one project as the coordinating centre for future activities. An NSC member who represented the National Environment Fund was also committed to help in keeping the network.


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