Project description

Title: Renewable energies and energy efficiency in rural regions of Afghanistan
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Afghanistan
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Energy and Water
Overall term: January 2008 to December 2012

Context

The nights are dark in the houses of most of Afghanistan's villages. Only about one in six rural inhabitants is connected to the electricity grid. Electricity is often generated at high cost by means of out-dated diesel generators. Even then, power is often only available for a few hours at a time, with major voltage fluctuations. This is the point of entry for GIZ's energy programme, which places special emphasis on using renewable energies. The GIZ (until December 2010 GTZ and DED) energy programme has been conducted since 2008 together with the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). It is part of the joint energy initiative of the Afghan, French and German Governments (AFGEI).

Objective

Providing a sustainable energy supply does not stop at installing the required infrastructure, such as building a small hydropower or solar power plant. The main aim of the programme is to prepare decision-makers at national level, first and foremost at the Ministry of Energy and Water and at the responsible authorities, as well as those at provincial level, for their tasks and empower them to devise a comprehensive energy policy.

Approach

The energy programme has three components.

In the first area, "Energy for rural development", pilot measures are being conducted with a focus on small hydropower plants in the pilot province of Badakshan in the northeast of the country. A further major component is the promotion of micro business, from polishers of the semiprecious gemstone lapis lazuli, to tailors and walnut oil producers. Startups are being particularly encouraged as a means of creating jobs. Through business startup courses, villagers have come up with new business ideas like opening photography and copy shops. These activities are being carried out in close cooperation with GIZ's sustainable economic development programme.

On the second level, "Energy planning at provincial level", the programme advises the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the provincial government in Badakshan on developing a rural electrification concept in the pilot province. Which criteria should be used and in which order should the 27 districts in Badakshan Province be supplied with electricity?

To ensure that the decisions are widely supported, the municipalities are included in the planning process. Besides hard factors like suitable geographic conditions and market potential, "soft" factors also play a role. These include the promotion of ethnic minorities and alternatives to drug cultivation. The experience gained in the pilot province forms the basis for formulating the national rural electrification policy.

This is a focal point of advisory services in the third area, "Energy policy advice at national level", which also includes the general promotion of renewable energies. Another central component of policy advice at national level is the design of an improved enabling environment. In addition to the standardisation and quality assurance of power plants, licensing procedures and the expansion and strengthening of operator structures, questions of pricing also play an important role.

Results achieved so far

As part of this programme, small hydropower plants have been installed at the three sites in Chata, Sangab and Jurm in the pilot province of Badakshan. A total of 750 families now have a power supply, as well as seven schools. In the district capital Jurm, the largest mini-hydropower plant in Badakshan with a capacity of 450 kW is currently in operation and supplies electricity to about 30,000 people, five schools and the public administration. The municipalities provide labour and building materials as their own contribution. But this is not the only way jobs and income are generated. Electricity is primarily put to a wide range of commercial purposes, from electrical installation and carpentry to the processing of foodstuffs and medicinal herbs. Schools and hospitals can be lit and medicines and vaccines for the patients can be cooled. Unhealthy kerosene lamps disappear from homes, and the evening hours can also be used thanks to power-saving lamps. Two information centres in Faizabad und Taloqan tell citizens about renewable energies and how to save energy, especially through energy-efficient construction.

(Photo: Solar panel in front of a tailor's shop in Faizabad. © GIZ, Oliver Haas)

Downloads Energy Programme Afghanistan

• Renewable Energy Supply for Rural Areas
  Brochure
  de-erneuerbare-energie-afghanistan.pdf, 0.42 MB (German)
  en-afghanistan-renewable-energy.pdf, 0.41 MB (English)
• Renewable Energy Supply for Rural Areas
  Programme flyer
  de-erneuerbare-energie-afghanistan-kurz.pdf, 0.22 MB (German)
  en-afghanistan-renewable-energy-short.pdf, 0.21 MB (English)
• Case studies
  de-afghanistan-erneuerbare-energie-case-studies.pdf, 0.49 MB (German)
  en-afghanistan-renewable-energy-case-studies.pdf, 0.47 MB (English)
• Energieplanung auf Provinzebene
  Elektrifizierungskonzept für die Provinz Badakhshan
  de-afghanistan-erneuerbare-energie-planung-provinzebene.pdf, 0.55 MB (German only)
• Inter-Ministerial Commission for Energy
  Sub-committee for rural electrification and renewable energies
  de-afghanistan-erneuerbare-energie-inter-ministerielle-kommission.pdf, 0.14 MB (German)
  en-afghanistan-renewable-energy-inter-ministerial-commission.pdf, 0.13 MB (English)
• Electric power from renewable energies in rural Afghanistan
  Impact sheet: Electric power has made a positive impact on our lives in many different ways
  de-afghanistan-erneuerbare-energie-strom-im-laendlichen-raum.pdf, 0.52 MB (German)
  en-afghanistan-renewable-energy-electricity-rural-areas.pdf, 0.52 MB (English)
• Quality Infrastructure for the Power Sector
  Standards and the consumer – partner for a better Afghanistan
  en-afghanistan-renewable-energy-quality-infrastructure.pdf, 0.28 MB (English)
• Women’s diversity in households and its importance for (household) energy interventions
  by Anke M. Mueller, published in Boiling Point, Issue 57 — 2009
  en-afghanistan-renewable-energy-anke-mueller-hedon-article-2009.pdf, 0.31 MB (English)