Wind energy for developing markets

01 Apr 2019

As technical, environmental and social advisor, we support the Government of Ethiopia and the World Bank in upscaling their efforts for the exploitation of wind resources and identification of suitable sites for wind IPP development

RINA is working with the World Bank in Ethiopia on an innovative flagship project for wind energy development in emerging markets. We are the technical, environmental and social advisor tasked with supporting the Government of Ethiopia and the World Bank in upscaling their efforts for the exploitation of wind resources and identification of suitable sites for wind IPP development.

This World Bank funded initiative is groundbreaking work, never before undertaken in the wind sector: debottlenecking investment opportunities in wind IPP development through the early screening, identification and assessment of key technical and E&S risks, primarily related to land acquisition/resettlement and potential bird mortality. Factoring in these risks upstream of the transaction process allows for a more sustainable project design and enormous risk reduction in wind IPP development. our role is fundamental, piloting an integrated approach to identifying E&S risks alongside technical risks.

Our work kicked off in December 2018, and is focused on two key elements:

• a technical review of the sites including a gap analysis of the requirements to make each site bankable, as well as preliminary grid and geotechnical investigations to assist in the prioritisation
• an E&S review and risk screening of the sites, focusing on social and biodiversity aspects (notably avian risks) to determine which sites have the potential to be bankable.