Scaling Up Renewable Energy

Challenge

Global prices for renewable energy are dropping, as reflected by renewable energy auctions. As a result, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) needed help supporting partner countries in the transition from negotiated tenders and administratively set feed-in tariffs, to competitive procurement schemes that capture price decreases for renewable energy, trigger private investment in new generation, and increase security of supply.

Solution

Guidehouse, led by Tetra Tech as the primary contractor, is part of a team awarded a five-year contract to support the continuation of USAID’s Scaling Up Renewable Energy (SURE). SURE helps countries plan, procure, integrate, and incentivize renewable energy. 

In India, the team recommended auction design elements to enable system-friendly procurement, which informed the large-scale PV-wind-hybrid and “round-the-clock” auctions in 2020. In Bangladesh, they trained policy makers on how to design renewable energy auctions, including auction simulations and design exercises, and prepared recommendations on how to improve project site selection and pre-development, as well as initial steps on assessing the potential for wind-solar hybrids, and designing time-based incentives.

The work through SURE culminated in a renewable energy auction design toolkit, implemented via a one-stop website. The website includes up-to-date information on well-designed auctions and how to provide low-cost solutions, while improving the performance of modern energy systems. The toolkit provides material through short articles, white papers, PowerPoint presentations, and trainings.

Impact

Through the creation of SURE, Guidehouse has helped USAID introduce auctions to countries that need them and optimize auctions for countries that already had them in place. The team has worked directly with six countries through SURE, with their advice shaping the design of two auction rounds in India. SURE continues to support developing countries in the procurement of cheap and reliable renewable energy, create markets, attract private investment, increase transparency, and enable system integration of renewable energy.