Lao PDR
Lao PDR was one of six countries to participate in the Asia Regional Workshop held in Phnom Penh on May 2005. Prior to the workshop, in-country consultants, were identified to act as GVEP Focal Points, to assist delegations to prepare a report on the structure of demand for energy at household, enterprise and sector levels in villages and peri-urban areas. Delegations also prepared project concepts which were discussed at the workshop.
The regional workshop brought together energy stakeholders from all key sectors to deepen awareness of energy-poverty issues and energy-related investment opportunities, as well as lay the groundwork for cooperation and further projects. In following a workshop design already successfully used in Africa and Latin America, working groups identified sectors where energy is a key input, and possible inter-sectoral synergies. They reviewed Investment Opportunity proposals from each participating country and initiated discussion between national delegations and the financing community.
A national strategy on renewable energy and energy efficiency development (NRES) will be formulated by the Science Technology and Environmental Agency (STEA) in close cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft (MIH) and other stakeholders over the next two years. An important part of that strategy, which will expand from the principals and guidelines of the NGPES, will be a focus on better access by rural populations to improved forms of energy – this Rural Energy (RE) component of the National Strategy on RE is particularly relevant to the current proposal for a public services partnership (PSP) program and pilot project.
PSP pilot activities have been designed to support this task by providing field data to assist the process of formulating the national RE strategy. They also comprise the start of a long-term national program tying energy initiatives into concrete social and economic benefits in rural areas, specifically improved health, education, and income generation opportunities. The design of the PSP program is flexible, and is expected to be modified and aligned with the National Renewable Energy Strategy as and when that is fully formulated.
For further information on activities in Country contact Sarah Adams at sarah.adams@gvep.org.
Documents & Articles
Sunlabob Rural Energy nominated in World Challenge 2006
02 September, 2006 -Sunlabob Rural Energy Ltd, an active GVEP partner from Laos, has been nominated as one of 12 finalists in World Challenge 2006 - a competition run in association with BBC World, Shell and Newsweek. A BBC World crew will be in Laos filming Sunlabob Rural Energy Ltd which was set up to encourage poor communities in the tropics to set up seed banks for traditional plant varieties. The project is being filmed for a series of programmes to air in October. For more information please visit the World Challenge Website. Pilot Activity in Lao PDR
28 March, 2006 - Lao PDR was one of the six countries which participated in the Asia Regional Workshop held in Phnom Penh in May 2005 and a Rural Energy Project is going to be presented to the World Bank Board in March 2006. GVEP Partners in Lao PDR will work closely with this Project and are exploring options for linking the provision of energy services under the Project with other development activities. The Bank is also preparing a Rural Development Project which will include components for provision of infrastructure. The possibility is being explored of linking the Rural Energy Project outputs to the Rural Development Project.
Download PDF - GVEP Asia Regional Workshop: Laos Project Concept Notes (1913 bytes) 16 May, 2005
Download PDF - GVEP Asia Regional Workshop: Case study: The Village Off-Grid GVEP Program in Lao (1941 bytes) 16 May, 2005