Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report: USAID-NREL Partnership (GCC)

Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to advance U.S. diplomatic and development priorities in the energy sector. The partnership aims to deploy advanced energy technologies and systems to enable secure, resilient, and sustainable economic growth in developing countries. This collaboration allows USAID access to world-class U.S. technical expertise in advanced energy systems, enabling the application of these resources strategically to advance USAID strategic priorities in the energy sector. The partnership focuses on developing and deploying tools, state-of-the-art approaches, and technical assistance to scale up advanced energy systems in electricity, transportation, and the built environment. Activities under this collaboration include developing and deploying technical platforms that provide broadly applicable solutions to advanced energy deployment. Examples of this work include developing storage curriculum under Greening the Grid, creating an economic potential tool and a levelized cost of energy tool for Renewable Energy (RE) Explorer, and a customizable International Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (I-JEDI) tool. The partnership made significant progress in developing technical platforms that provide broadly applicable solutions to advanced energy deployment. NREL developed storage curriculum under Greening the Grid, created an economic potential tool and a levelized cost of energy tool for Renewable Energy (RE) Explorer, and a customizable International Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (I-JEDI) tool. The partnership also conducted bi-lateral pilot efforts that helped individual countries overcome local barriers and contributed resources to the ongoing development of accessible and informative technology centers. The partnership's Task Area 1, Program Management & Impact, focused on strategic direction and management, impact reporting, and outreach and communication. The subtask 1.1, Strategic Direction and Management/Impact Reporting, involved strategy development and thought leadership for the Activity, overall coordination, and Activity management activities. The subtask 1.2, Outreach and Communication, involved development of a communication strategy, impact story-telling, and development and coordination of communication materials. The partnership's Task Area 2, Technical Work, focused on providing technical assistance to international energy system planners, regulators, and grid operators to overcome the challenges of integrating variable renewable energy sources into the grid. The subtask 2.1.1, Grid Modernization, involved providing technical assistance to international energy system planners, regulators, and grid operators to overcome the challenges of integrating variable renewable energy sources into the grid. The partnership's financial update for Fiscal Year 2019 showed a total USAID funding of $10,477,060, with a total remaining funds of $4,546,736. The partnership's progress summary highlighted the significant progress made in developing technical platforms that provide broadly applicable solutions to advanced energy deployment. The partnership's activity status showed that the partnership made significant progress in developing technical platforms, conducting bi-lateral pilot efforts, and contributing resources to the ongoing development of accessible and informative technology centers.