Mini-grid & off-grid project preparation (2019-2020) funded by XacBank Mongolia

XacBank, an accredited entity of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), seeks to finance the development of scalable mini-grid/off-grid systems that will be capable of serving multiple end uses (heating, waste processing and/or removal) under an affordable business model to alleviate utility inadequacies and pollution challenges in Ulaanbaatar’s ger areas. Scope & activities undertaken by ITPI included- (i) Assessment of heating/ energy technologies and system configurations to service the heating, human waste processing and hot water needs; development of technological eligibility criteria for future systems to be installed under an aspirational mini-grid and off-grid program; and in-depth cost evaluation of viable technologies to identify optimal size of system to achieve bankability; (ii) Environmental, social and gender studies; (iii) Definition of the project’s key technical, financial, regulatory, social, and political risks and identification of their mitigation options; (iv) Definition of baselines, including project/ programme level indicators, to enable mini-grid system impacts to be quantified and development of methodology for XacBank to measure project impacts on ongoing basis; (v) Business model evaluation, financial modelling, legal advice, procurement strategy and multi-stakeholder engagement to financially structure a proposed programme; (vi) Mini-grid pilot testing, market assessment, knowledge transfer to potential service providers and public awareness strategy for scale-up.