Table of contents

1. Objectives

Project purpose

The purpose of the proposal is to develop a UNECE standard on off-grid renewable energy PPP projects in support of the SDGs. The purpose is to: 

i)    Provide informative context for member States wishing to develop off-grid rural electrification PPP projects that reflect current good practices and support the achievement of the SDGs;
ii)    Use PPP examples and international best practices as empirical evidence for policy options and recommendations to develop off-grid renewable energy projects; and
iii)    Create awareness of relevant international PPP trends and practices in the off-grid renewable energy sector as well as the potential contribution of the PPPs for the SDGs approach to provide clear energy to rural communities.

Project scope

SDG 7 calls for governments and stakeholders to ensure “access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”, and sets ambitious targets by 2030 to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services (7.1), to increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (7.2), to double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency (7.3), to enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology (7.a), and expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries (7.b). Thus, it is crucial to accelerate the electrification of remote locations through sustainable energy, specifically renewable energy.

The scope of the standard is to provide examples of off-grid rural electrification PPPs and highlight some of the important aspects of delivering off-grid electrification PPPs to contribute to achieving the SDGs and to present a set of voluntary policy options and recommendations based on case studies from around the world. The standard will build on the ECE Standard on PPPs in Renewable Energy (2018) and will benefit from input by the ECE Group of Experts on Renewable Energy.[1]

[1] The ECE Group of Experts on Renewable Energy, serviced by the Sustainable Energy Division, provided useful comments in 2018 during the preparation of the ECE Standard on PPPs in Renewable Energy.

2. References