Renewable Energy for Agriculture

The project will address initial investment cost barriers, information and institutional constraints currently preventing their widespread use. Specifically the project will support the following activities: Development of a market promotion strategy, promotion campaigns, innovative vendor financing/leasing programs (demonstrations), product certification. The investment demonstration component of the GEF project will address initial investment cost barriers and related risk perceptions both at the vendor and the rural client level. The replacement of grant investment support by contingent financing modalities to back vendor programs will be explored during appraisal as the project brief provides evidence that rural investments in renewable energy are financially viable. This is to promote replication, achievement of suggested market wide impact and overall sustainability. Project outcomes will include batement of up to 1.2 million tonnes of annual carbon emissions with replication of immediate project outcomes and penetration of renewable energy systems among 1/3 of Mexico’s 600,000 unelectrified farms within ten years. Important progress milestones will be the installation of 890 demonstration systems and training of about 1,500 service technicians by project completion (2004).