Expression of Interest for Data Collection, Geospatial Mapping and Portfolio Preparation for the Regional Dares Project (A) Prepare energy market related data for Regional DARES countries[1]: In this task, the Consultant shall prepare a geospatial database covering each of the countries participating in Regional DARES, which includes data pertaining to the current status, potential, financial viability gap and potential support mechanisms for Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE)-based electrification. For this, the Consultant should use the internal-facing M300+ DRE platform as a base to integrate geospatial datasets coming from the country and other sources, including by liaising with other World Bank teams. Key datasets to include are as follows: Energy infrastructure and additional electrification-related data: For each country, the Consultant should on-board the best available national electrification datasets, working closely with World Bank Task Team Leaders (TTLs) and other consultants working on measurement and tracking of electrification progress. The on-boarded data should include geospatial data on population and electrification status, disaggregated by technology. This is particularly critical in certain countries such as Mauritania and the Central African Republic. The Consultant shall include information on current status and expected deployment of grid expansion and DRE technologies in each of the countries. The Consultant will be expected to draw on a wide range of data sources, including government reports and databases, geospatial data from the World Bank and other agencies, and night-light and any other relevant proxies for electrification. For example, in countries such as Chad, Mauritania, Cameroon and others, there are several mini grids being planned by donors such as AfDB, the World Bank, IFC and others. The Consultant should capture these plans and ensure they are integrated into the platform. The Consultant shall also map supplier-side data for each country, identifying which DRE technologies and providers are already active in each geography. This includes tracking the footprint of key mini grid, mesh grid, SHS, and productive use technology providers, as well as the maturity of their operations in these markets. This information will be integrated into the platform to support investment planning and market readiness assessments. Enhanced productive use case data: The M300+ DRE platform does not capture the full gamut of productive use cases. In each country, the consultant is expected to: Integrate geospatial data related to the current status of deployment of irrigation, cooling and agro-processing technologies, in close collaboration with consultants from Wageningen University. The Consultant is not expected to carry out additional primary data collection around these topics. Cooling data is expected to include small-scale household refrigeration, light commercial refrigeration (especially cold chains for agricultural produce), as well as larger-scale industrial cooling. Integrate additional information on agricultural productivity in the communities, which can help estimate the market potential and geographic distribution of potential application of productive use equipment. The Consultant is expected to: Collect up-to-date high resolution land cover and land use data. Include the most up to date agricultural production map, showing key crops and key agricultural areas of the country. Utilize livelihood statistics and maps to identify areas where agricultural and other productivity activities occur. Develop a composite index (based on indicators such as agricultural productivity, agglomeration/co-location effects, proximity to markets, availability of complementary infrastructure etc.) to identify and map out regional hubs and towns where significant agro-production or commercial activities are expected to occur. Map out additional productive and commercial points of interests such as banks, fuel stations, restaurants and shops. Enhanced income data: The consultant should add information on these topics in each of the countries: Collect and integrate geospatial data from network intelligence providers (e.g. Ookla) and MNOs on (i) network usage metrics (incl. device types, network performance metrics, aggregated user profiles) and (ii) mobile money usage metrics (incl. transaction volume and value, usage patterns, demographic data and remittance flow)[2]; Integrate information such as location of mobile-phone towers, information of the GSMA map of the country. Include geospatial income data, relative wealth index data and data around multi-dimensional poverty indicators (at administrative level). · Broader socio-economic data: The Consultant is expected to: Update public facilities information in close liaison with the World Bank, SEforALL and others. Update and include the most up-to-date available security and accessibility data of the region. Where data is non-confidential, and confirmed as suitable for public release, the Consultant is also expected to support the integration of the collected datasets into the public facing version of the M300+ DRE platform. (B) Identify market for DRE in each country Using the information generated through geospatial assessment in task A, the consultant should assess the market for DRE in each of the countries. Identify key areas in countries without energy access. Identify figures around energy access, types of communities without energy access and potential technology. Segregate markets into large communities, middle-sized communities, smaller-communities and distributed settlements, without access to electricity. Identify the size of markets at different bands of reach of energy access, such as within 2.5 km of the MV grid lines, within 5 to 2.5 km, 5 to 10 km and beyond. Identify the local market presence of DRE providers to prioritize areas for intervention. This includes considering the depth and breadth of private sector activity in each geography, which may serve as an indicator of market readiness and ease of implementation. Prepare a market report for each country showing size of markets, potential technologies and viability and attractiveness for mini-grids, mesh-grids, solar home systems, and productive use equipment. The reports should acknowledge that certain settlements may be best served by a combination of electrification solutions - for example, solar home systems may complement mini-grids in areas where full grid coverage is not feasible. The World Bank has hired consultants under a separate engagement to design public funding mechanisms through which DRE can be supported in each of the seven countries. The Consultant under this assignment is expected to work in close collaboration with these consultants to ensure complementarity of efforts and to reduce risks of duplication of effort. (C) Develop and propose financing mechanisms for DRE in each country & the region Using the data collected under Tasks A and B, the Consultant is expected to conduct country-wide and regional assessments to develop potential financing mechanisms for DRE technologies as part of the Regional DARES programme. The Consultant is expected to: · Explore different options for the design of subsidies for incentivization of private sector-led electrification and propose the most suitable option. Experience from countries in the region shows that different levels of subsidy are needed to incentivize private-sector participation in less commercially attractive areas. This approach also reduces the risk of private operators targeting only the most profitable sites (low-hanging fruit) while receiving uniform subsidy levels. The Consultants work is expected to inform an area-based, tiered subsidy approach for incentivizing DRE technologies. As an alternative to site-specific or technology-specific subsidies, the Consultant will assess a technology-agnostic approach where subsidies are allocated based on administrative units (e.g., local government areas) and the level of access (defined by the MTF) provided by the private operator. Under this approach, subsidies would be defined in a two-stage process: o First, areas would be classified according to their commercial attractiveness, with higher subsidy levels assigned to less commercially attractive areas to encourage private-sector investment. This would be guided by a similar approach as the one adopted under the Nigeria DARES program. In that instance, VIDA identified a number of core business challenges including the logistical challenge of accessing an area; security concerns in the area; the wealth of the area; and the potential market size. VIDA developed a supply-side vulnerability index that incorporated these factors and assigned each area with an index score between 0 and 1. Then, specific subsidy levels are assigned to each area based on their index score. An example can be seen below: · Low subsidy: score 0 to 0.3 · Medium subsidy: score 0.3 to 0.7 · High subsidy: score 0.7 to 1 · No subsidy: excluded urban areas o Second, within each area, subsidy amounts would be differentiated based on the level of access provided by the operator. For example, operators would receive a higher level of subsidy for providing a Tier 5 connection as opposed to a Tier 1 connection. Where a tiered subsidy approach is deemed appropriate, the Consultant will provide an initial estimate of the suitable dollar amount for each tier, and will work closely with Inensus to provide them with the inputs necessary for calculation of subsidy levels for each location and tier. An illustrative exampl Tender Link : https://wbgeprocure-rfxnow.worldbank.org/rfxnow/public/advertisement/5946/view.html
