Project assistance completion report : renewable energy field testing, project no. 263-0123.2

The project was essentially a failure. Only 4 of 11 targeted field tests were conducted, and 3 of these suffered serious delays, resulting in three PACD extensions. More importantly, no significant progress was made towards addressing the real constraints to the effective development and utilization of renewable energy in Egypt, namely, economic, bureaucratic, and administrative constraints. Rather, the project focused on lack of appropriate technology, which is not the main constraint. The project was not without accomplishment, however. Training was provided for 152 policymakers and 500 engineers, versus a target of 40-100 for each group. Also, a Renewable Energy Information System (REIS) was established and is functioning at the Government of Egypt's (GOE's) New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA); numerous economic and environmental analyses were also completed. Finally, 56 new initiatives for field tests were proposed and 1 of these was implemented, versus respective targets of 6 and 1-2. Lessons learned included the following. (1) Successful technology transfer requires attention not only to technological issues, but also to the financial viability of the technologies; the existence of local infrastructure for their manufacture, sale, and marketing; and a strategy for the organizational, financial, technological, and policy elements required. (2) The design of field test systems suffered from insufficient interaction among the U.S. contractors, NREA staff, and the GOE. In a related vein, the process of obtaining approval from NREA and USAID/Cairo for field testing and system design documentation was too time-consuming and expensive. Excessive detail is to be avoided in drafting Requests for Proposals for smaller-scale field tests. (3) Training should focus on (a) experience in engineering-experimental data acquisition and analysis (including microcomputer use), and (b) practical exposure to hands-on renewable system operation and trouble shooting. (4) Ensuring that a system can pay its own way, through some form of a monetary collection model, can greatly contribute to sustainability. (5) When possible, portable data loggers should be used instead of PC units, which can complicate data collection processes and are more susceptible to hardware and software failure under adverse environmental conditions. (6) Overly centralized project management and evaluation can create unnecessary delays. Localized evaluation in particular is more productive, since evaluators are more familiar with projects and their implementors.